Editing Apocalypse Witch:Volume1 Chapter2 (section)

===Part 3===

London was flooded with garbage and experiencing an eclipse.

The city managed an odd harmony between the asphalt roads and old-fashioned brick apartments, but piles of trash bags filled the sidewalks and even spilled out into the streets. Those piles were as tall as people. It might look like a boycott or strike by the sanitation workers, but it was not.

This was due to Elicia’s defeat.

While she had been in charge of garbage disposal, she did not actually deal with the household trash for 5.5 billion people. She had primarily dealt with breaking down large passenger planes and tankers, but with that role no longer being fulfilled, someone had to pick up the slack. Just as a small slowdown could lead to a long traffic jam, the pressure gradually spread and finally rose to the surface like this.

But no one was openly complaining about it.

They had bigger issues to worry about.

That city of fog was on high alert.

A curfew had not been put in place, but checkpoints had been set up while police cars and armored vehicles made irregular patrols. Helicopters equipped with floodlights were flying through the false night sky and patrol boats were navigating the rivers. The people who just wanted to grab a pint at their usual pub before staggering back home would sober up quick after being assaulted by a storm of police questioning.

A cheerful voice spoke from the disaster radio on the edge of a flower bed. It may have been left there by a homeless person driven away by the police.

“It seems the rising trend for Coronel Pharmaceutical stock is related to the global delays in garbage disposal.”

“Well, if unsanitary conditions lead to an outbreak of disease, sales of disinfectant and antibiotics are bound to rise. Also, Coronel has recently purchased a promising startup to enter the insecticide field, so they must expect a rise in the anti-fly and anti-roach markets as well.”

“Finding a way to benefit from anything is a human strength, isn’t it? Now, all the investors have already noted these things, so it is unlikely buying any shares at this point will amount to much. So what brand will be rising next? Could it be Gaia Agriculture who are receiving a flood of orders for home compost kits?”

“Stain Breweries might not be a bad guess. I bet a lot of people will want a drink after seeing the garbage flooding their city. Ha ha ha.”

In one such city, Karuta and Marika exchanged some quick words after stepping out of the RV.

“Okay, let’s do this as planned.”

“Got it.”

They set off in different directions. Also, Marika was not flying. She ran along the ground because taking flight and gathering attention would be an excellent way of getting herself shot down by one of those enormous light spears.

London’s streetlights kept things plenty bright despite the eclipse, although things were far from cheerful given the high alert. That was probably thanks to Yukino Arakawa herself. She provided power for the world, which allowed the pre-existing power stations to supply electricity for government supercomputers and particle accelerators that were making good progress on developing new drugs for incurable diseases.

And yet she had killed so many people like they were garbage.

It would make true philanthropists cry.

Karuta avoided those streetlights that felt like symbols of condescending charity and walked down a dark and deserted sidewalk while lightly touching the modified military flashlight in his blazer pocket. He muttered something under his breath while confirming its presence.

“Power up.”

The back of his blazer swelled out and the mysterious crystal girl named Aine emerged. She had silver hair, white clothing, a crystal sword, and a laser gun on the short end of the sword’s jitte-like branch. She gently held the weapon in her hand while quietly awaiting orders.

Karuta focused on the flower petals at his chest that would replenish themselves after scattering.

“You too, Aine. We’re heading different ways from here on.”

“…”

The pale girl’s cheeks puffed out a bit from within.

She may not have liked that idea.

“It’s about efficiency. I explained why this is the most effective plan, didn’t I?”

“Understood. Take care, Sacri-sama.”

“Do you really have to call me that?”

Neither of them sounded particularly happy with what the other said, but they still split up without any further words.

(London, hm?)

British food is bad.

Back at the Ocean Crystal Magic Academy, he had wondered if that commonly-held belief was really true, so he had snuck into the cafeteria kitchen and attempted a cooking experiment with the help of an exchange student from London. The result had been so-so and he had ended up with some indigestion, but since the exchange student himself had tilted his head when eating it, something of Karuta’s Japanese cooking may have wound up in those fish and chips. The truth of the matter remained a mystery to him.

That exchange student was no more.

Everyone there had been transformed into broken crystal statues.

“…”

He threw out his sentimentality and focused on the cold world of vengeance once more.

Their plan this time was simple.

“The Problem Solvers act as a kind of symbol, so they cannot leave their posts during the G21 summit. If they are seen running around, it will be reported as something being terribly wrong.”

A transmission that used no electricity reached his ears.

Student Council President Omotesandou Kyouka was speaking to him through the vibrations of his Crystal Blossom that was controlled by a printed circuit board smaller than a stamp.

“Yukino Arakawa is in the Palace of Westminster. That’s the national parliament building that is best known for its clocktower. It is nearly 10km from the RV as the bird flies. Sorry, but there was no getting any closer with all the checkpoints.”

“We’ll manage,” he replied. “Besides, it’s the light spears that worry me.”

“Really, isn’t a hit from that going to vaporize us no matter what?” cut in Marika. “And it moves at the speed of light, so you can’t dodge it after seeing it coming.”

“That is not necessarily true if you reach Regulation 3,” said the Student Council President in a joking way. “I don’t think we need to discuss Yukino’s God-Worshiping Magic. It is not worth thinking about. The average Crystal Blossom cannot stop something like that.”

“Then we just have to make sure she doesn’t fire it.”

“Well done, Karuta-kun. Yes, even if she has satellite weapons that can target any part of the world, how is she aiming them? She only ever fires on a single point. If we don’t let the impact of it all distract us, we might just be able to find a way through it.”

Karuta considered that point while staying in the shadows cast by the piles of trash taller than he was.

Targeting that school in the ocean would have been easy. Even the escort ships had been plenty large. Targeting by eye was simple enough on the empty ocean, but things would not be so simple in a labyrinthine metropolis like this.

Also, the Problem Solvers worked for the government and were seen to represent justice, so they would not have to rely on illegal things like bugs or spy cameras. They could use all of the official security measures to monitor the ordinary people.

“A lot of effort went into London’s counterterrorism infrastructure, so they have more than 5 million stationary security cameras, don’t they?” he asked.

“You can also add phones, intercoms, drive recorders, and countless other devices to the list,” added Kyouka. “The total number of lenses might be greater than 10 million.”

“Are you saying Yukino Arakawa is using that to aim?” asked Marika. “But…”

“That’s right, Marika. The data from that many cameras is far too much to manage with nothing but manpower. We just have to hope we aren’t caught by the program made to automatically detect suspicious people.”

That was why Karuta was intentionally choosing the shadows that were made all the deeper by the brightness of the streetlights.

London was a crime-prevention city with more than 5 million security cameras alone, but the plan felt accelerated and rushed. They must have had to acquire the requested number of cameras in a hurry and within a limited budget because each individual one was of poor quality. And cheap cameras had trouble with light contrast. When they automatically adjusted for the bright areas, the shadows would be entirely blotted out.

People could be identified with facial recognition, color charts, skeletal structure, and walking pattern these days, but none of that mattered when the original data was wiped out.

Also, the piles of trash bags rose up like walls in places not accounted for in the initial crime-prevention plan, so they would physically block the cameras’ view at times.

“But Yukino controls all the stuff in satellite orbit, doesn’t she?” asked Marika. “Can’t she look down at us from there?”

“She can, but satellite photos can’t use facial recognition as long as we don’t look up into the night sky,” said Karuta. “And we can intentionally alter our walking pattern. Night images end up grainy when the brightness is enhanced and thermo images only show the silhouette. That means she can tell someone is there, but not who.”

“?”

“Hee hee hee. Marika-san, London is a city of 8 million,” said Kyouka. “Include the tourists and commuters and that number passes 13 million. They might be on high alert, but there is no curfew in place and a lot of people are going to want to head out just to get videos or social media content. She can’t exactly vaporize someone just because they seem suspicious.”

“After all, London has more than 10 million lenses,” repeated Karuta.

There had been no witnesses other than her targets during the attack on the Ocean Crystal Magic Academy. It had essentially been the most wide-open closed room possible, so she had been allowed to use as much power as she liked.

But things were different here.

The Problem Solvers were the world’s strongest. That system and service that protected and glorified them would bind Yukino Arakawa here.

“But, Sacri-sama.”

Karuta received a transmission from Aine while a dark flame burned in the pit of his stomach.

“These are all assumptions and you do not know anything for certain.”

“…”

It was possible she had some unknown surveillance system that had already revealed their location to her.

Or she might lose her cool and fire her light spears on the city of London.

After thinking for a moment and slowly letting out a breath, Utagai Karuta responded.

“That is why we split up before starting toward the Palace of Westminster.”

If one of them was arrested or reduced to ashes, another could reach Yukino.

Once they were close enough to her, her absurdly powerful attack would hit her as well, so she could no longer use it.

That was their plan.

That was their choice.

The more he thought about it, the dizzier he felt. He made a point of regulating his breathing while he passed a group of walking police officers and some police cars. Since all he had in his pocket was a flashlight, he was not in any danger if they did stop him, but he still did not want any information to reach Yukino at the top.

While he just barely slipped past both the mechanical lenses and the human eyes, a voice informed him that something was not right.

“Hold on a second. This is odd. What’s going on?”

“Omotesandou-san?”

He spoke up in confusion, but he noticed it too before long.

It reached his ears, or maybe his skin.

A strange tension filled him like a weak electric current coursing through the surface of his body. It was like a premonition of a coming explosion. The police must have received word of something via radio because they grew much more active.

“Hey, you there!!”

“Kh. …Yes?”

A deep voice called out to him and one of the police shined a flashlight on him.

He narrowed his eyes and covered his face with a hand to protect his eyes while the middle-aged officer jogged over.

An unpleasant pressure bore down on him and he gradually lost control of his pulse.

But the police officer let out a breath and said something he did not expect.

“Are you a resident? Or are you a traveler? Either way, you should find a building to get inside!”

“Um?”

“It’s starting,” said the police officer with tense sweat on his face. “A riot is starting.”