Lie:verse Liars:Chapter 8

Reinforcements appeared. Or rather, the latecomer seems to have finally arrived.

　--Mashira Hiizumi is a woman with beautiful flowing black hair, an artistically shaped face, with large eyes that attract anyone who sees her.

Wearing a white school uniform, her standing posture is majestic and dignified as always.

She is the kind of beautiful girl that everyone would stare at if they passed by her on the street.

But the more beautiful something is, the more terrifying it can actually be, and that is precisely what Mashira Hiizumi is.

"I'm on my way there, so you better have a good excuse for leaving me behind!"

Mashira glared at me from afar with an agitated voice coming from my earpiece, she made a new hatchet in her right hand using her disguise and rushed toward the back of the group of "fake beasts" that blocked our way.

The "fake beasts" notice her presence and turn around to attack Mashira, but they are unable to stop her.

Mashira stabbed the fake beast's outstretched hand with the knife that appeared in her left hand and swung the hatchet in her right down on the fake beast's brain.

The "fake beast" was quickly silenced as it slammed to the ground with a loud thud.

Mashira then released the weapon in her right hand, created another hatchet, and threw it toward the next "fake beast".

Mashira came toward us without hesitation. She cut up the "fake beasts" that swarmed her path non-stop.

　Her appearance is as gorgeous and gruesome as ever.

　Mashira's "disguise" is completely different from that of Tanaka and the other Awakened.

There are two orthodox types of "disguise" that we third-generation Awakened use.

These two types are "giant weapons" and "firearms".

　In the concept of "disguise" which is used as "weapons to fight against monsters called 'fake beasts' in the space called the 'false world or Gisekai'", these two types were the ones that were the most envisioned by the Awakened.

These were the two types of weapons that were most likely to come to mind when thinking about the concept of a "disguise." They were like special weapons held by the main characters in animes, video games, and movies.

But Mashira's image of this is fundamentally different.

What Mashira Hiizumi sought in her "disguise" was to be "a weapon that could comfortably slaughter fake beasts," which made her disguise incredibly dangerous to other people.

As a result, Mashira's "disguise" is quite special compared to the image of how other "awakened" created theirs. She can use and abandon multiple types of weapons that exist in reality almost without any limitations.

An automatic pistol appears in her right hand next, and she fires it after screwing its muzzle into the mouth of the "fake beast," then discards it when she runs out of bullets. On the other hand, a knife appears, held upside down, and with the same momentum, she thrusts it at the profile of the "fake beast" coming at her from the opposite side and releases it. She then swings the hatchets that have newly appeared in both her hands several times, and when she feels that they have lost their sharpness, she uses them as tomes and leaves them there.

The "fake beats" that Mashira killed disappear one after another, and a new "disguise" appears in her hands yet again as she deals with more of the fake beasts lined up in front of her.

"As usual, I still love watching this happen."

Mashira's strength is so overwhelming that she says such a sarcastic remark.

Despite the fact that her "disguise" in itself is not as good as the other "Awakened," the results she gets out of it are much better than the others.

　The reason behind this is obvious.

The precision of Mashira's image of her "disguise" is unmatched compared to that of the other Awakened, and her physical ability embodied by the "disguise" with her skill in handling multiple weapons is incomparable.

More than aptitude and compatibility, she has clear and pure thoughts, feelings, and desires of "what she seeks".

When these match with the image of oneself, the benefit that "Disguise" gives to the "Awakened" improves many times over.

I believe that a "disguise" is not only a weapon for the "Awakened" to defeat the "fake beasts," but also an existence that reveals the true nature of the "Awakened" themselves.

Mashira, who is a prime example of this, took a big leap toward us after she was satisfied with putting away all of the Fake Beasts for a while.

"Well then, Ruusuke my dear? You do have something to say to me first, don't you?"

The girl stared at me with her face so close to mine that my breath almost caught on her face. She was the same beautiful girl who had just shown me an overwhelming display of what a killing spree looks like.

　It was obvious what I had to say to Mashira.

"Thank you for picking me up."

"First of all, you're supposed to say 'Thank you for saving my life!'"

"I'll only thank you if you apologize for being late."

"I'm not late because I got there on time for an important event."

"You need to look up the meaning of tardiness in a dictionary. You should buy one."

"I don't have the word "tardy" in my dictionary."

"Your dictionary is just a bunch of crap anyway."

"You're younger than me, so use honorifics."

"I'll think about it once Mashira uses it with me, her master."

"How many months ago was that anyway? I'm not going to use honorifics with someone who has no respect for me in the first place."

"Yeah, yeah I agree with that. Whatever you say."

Despite being in the middle of an argument, our hands haven't stopped moving at all.

I break down the fake beasts and roll them over, while Mashira wastes no time in finishing them off.

Sasamiya, who is gasping for breath, suddenly intrudes into our argument while holding her victim.

"Ha- Haizo-Haizora-san ......! Who is this person ......?"

"Oh her? I'd like to introduce you to the last member of our team, Mashira Hiizumi."

"Is this child okay? She looks like she's about to die."

"Sasamiya-san is a newcomer to Team T. She's the last member. Her mission this time is to carry the victim and bring them to safety."

"Who's the guy that started all of this trouble?"

"Tanaka."

Mashira glanced at Tanaka who was blocking the Fake Beast from a distance. He nodded in agreement.

"I see. So this girl seems to be Tanaka's favorite."

Immediately, Sasamiya-san cried out, "Huh?" in a strange voice.

"You're not wrong, but this isn't the time to talk about that."

　Mashira and I stood on both sides of the room to protect Sasamiya-san, who was lying on her back with her ears turned bright red, forgetting the situation.

"Anyway, all we have to do is kill all the "fake beasts" we see, right?"

"No, that's not it. Not at all. We need to get the hell out of here."

"But I just got here."

"It's your own fault for being late."

"No! I want to kill more of them! (>_<)"

"Don't say such gruesome words while trying to keep up your pretty girl act!"

While they were babbling such nonsense, Mashira's hands kept on moving.

　The "Fake Beasts" kept approaching and we continued slaughtering them one after the other.

"The most fun is after you get the victim back. They just swarm around on their own."

As if in response to Mashiro's light-hearted smile, one of the fake beasts explode.

It was a shot from Komame.

　She must have switched to her other bullets in response to Mashira's participation in the war.

The precise shooting that had just been used to accurately shoot the "fake beasts" approaching from the rear has changed drastically. The bombardment, which seemed to wipe out the dense concentration of "fake beasts," swept in the direction in which we were advancing.

　--The flow of the battle had changed.

　It was precisely because I felt this way that I shouted toward the front.

"Tanaka! Switch places with us and escort Sasamiya-san!"

"What? Wait, Haizora! Why would you do that!"

"I'm tired of taking care of the new kid! You do the rest!"

Then, seeing as we had already left Sasamiya-san behind and were headed for the front, Tanaka got flustered and stood next to Sasamiya-san as if to protect her.

"Are you okay, Sasamiya?!"

"Y-yes. I'm fine."

"Hang in there, we're almost done! I'll definitely protect you until then!"

　Hearing Tanaka's words, Sasamiya's face turned bright red.

"I'm ......I'm looking forward to working with you."

I think as I listen to the exchange between them going on behind my back.

Hmmm, I knew it was that kind of thing, but this kind of pisses me off, this atmosphere.

　Nevertheless, Tanaka's words were pretty effective.

Sasamiya-san's body, which had been wobbly until a moment ago, quickly returned to normal.

　Emotional support leads to emotional stability.

The presence of Tanaka, who was protecting her, wiped away all the fear that she had of the "fake beasts," and revived the power of her "disguise," which had almost disappeared.

　It seems that the power of love is great after all.

With Sasamiya-san's movement as an "Awakened" restored, the speed of our battle increased drastically.

With the additional strength of Mashira, there was no way for the "fake beasts" to hold us back.

"I can see it!"

We arrived at the mansion where the "hole" that led to the real world is. We rushed into the compound through the front gate.

"Tanaka, you go ahead!"

Tanaka and the others who were protecting Sasamiya-san went inside the mansion first as we stayed outside to stall for time.

"Come, let's do this."

　Mashira's unrelenting attacks against the "fake beasts" that came over the high walls and gates, continued.

Not only does she make full use of her "disguise," but she also kicks and tramples the "fake beasts" with no effort.

She does anything and everything, and she is always ready to face it.

But her appearance is always scary.

"Ruu-kun, I'm going to join you, you look like you need help."

With a voice coming from my earpiece, I see Kon moving along the roof, carrying a huge sniper rifle.

She leapt from the roof of a nearby house toward us.

However, her leap was not long enough, and she fell into the crowd of "fake beasts" that were clamoring for her life.

　I calmly watched her as she raised her arms with her palms up in the air.

　The falling Kon used her "disguise's" hand movement as a springboard to push up from below, as she took another big leap in the air and flew into the grounds of the mansion. The girl was about to land safely in the compound.

"!"

At that moment, however, the "disguise" that Kon Komame was holding suddenly disappeared.

　I rushed out in a panic and caught Komame firmly in my hands.

"Nice work, Ruu-kun. You almost hit the ground and hurt yourself badly in order to save me."

She puts her hands around my neck and hugs me happily.

"...... Hey, Kon. You intentionally took off your disguise just now, didn't you?”

"I wanted Ruu-kun to hug me."

"You know you should choose a time and place for that kind of thing."

"I did choose it. That's why I'm hugging you like this right now."

Aaah this girl is a pain in the ass-

--For sure.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"Hmmm, I smell something delicious."

• Lick*

"Hey! Did you just lick me? You just licked my neck!"

"I'm sorry, I was just..."

"You just WHAT?"

I throw Kon Komame off me.

She lands on the ground and looks up at me with a grimace.

"That hurts."

"The next time you do this again, you're not going to get any more help from me."

"So you're saying I can do it one more time?"

How the hell is she able to say that with a straight face?!

---That's when it happened

　Suddenly, all the "fake beasts" stopped moving.

"What? is it over already?"

Mashira, who is a fighting maniac, looks bored as she beheads the "fake beasts" that have become motionless in front of her.

Sasamiya-san and the others have escaped from this "False World" to the real world with the victim.

Losing sight of the beings necessary to form in this False World, the Fake Beasts lose their greatest purpose and become motionless in a state of abandonment.

　This is a sight that can only be seen when the victims are rescued.

"Let's get out of here already."

Kon Komame helped Mashira to her feet. She had lost all her motivation now that there was no one left for her to enjoy killing. The two headed for the tatami mat room where the "hole" was located.

　I watched the two run ahead of me as they reached for the "hole" that had formed in the space and disappeared. And as I was about to follow, I stopped in my tracks.

　I felt something was beginning to stir again in the "false world," which was enveloped in silence and would soon be destroyed.

"Was it just my imagination?"

I reached out my hand as it was---

　--And I found myself standing under a fire escape door.

"Welcome back everyone! Thank you all for your hard work!"

When I returned to the real world, I was greeted not by a mad clown, but by a high-strung old man with strange makeup.

This person's name is Suminoe Ikuto Suminoe.

　He is an agent of Caliburn and also an exclusive agent of the "B.E.” or “Butterfly Effect"- the clan to which we belong. Incidentally, his agent number is "II".

Looking around the room, the adults who were behind Ikuto-san seemed to be Caliburn staff members moving about without a care in the world.

The victim, who had been carried out to the real world by Tanaka and his team earlier, was being carried on a stretcher by the rescue team. She will be taken to a hospital run by Caliburn.

The entrance to the fire escape is a bit noisy, but the Caliburn staff, dressed as security guards, are covering the victim and seem to be doing a good job of getting rid of the people looking at the scene.

Whenever I return to the real world from the "false world," I always have this thought:

'Rescuing victims from the "fake world" is certainly something only we, the third-generation Awakened, can do.'

But in the real world, it is Caliburn, the countermeasure organization for the false world, that handles everything else, and there is nothing we can do here in the real world.

"Here you go, Haizora-kun. Have a drink."

"Thanks...."

As I obligingly accepted a sports drink from the smiling Ikuto and took a sip, I noticed Tanaka and the others taking care of Sasamiya-san, who was sitting on the stairs near me.

"Good work."

"How's Sasamiya-san?"

"She's a little tired, but it's nothing much to worry about."

"That's good to hear."

"I was wondering what was going to happen when Haizora-kun abandoned Sasamiya for the mission."

　Tanaka glares at me with resentment.

Idiot. ‘Abandoning her for a while allowed us to accomplish the mission.’ I thought, but I didn't say anything about that.

"I did what I was paid for, so don't complain."

"Well, whatever the case may be, I'm glad you were able to rescue the victim safely. If you could build up your confidence in Sasamiya-san, you should be able to work as an "Awakened" without any problems."

Tanaka looks at Sasamiya-san, who is talking with Gouda and Hosoda, with somewhat kind eyes.

"So? Are you really going to recommend Sasamiya-san to a different clan once her training period is over?"

　I asked him on the phone yesterday.

　Since Tanaka wants to help Sasamiya-san, he intends to support her as much as he can and not leave her on his team.

"You understand that, don't you, Haizora? Sasamiya is not suited for our clan. If she stays with us, she will be disillusioned with the responsibility of being Awakened and will feel nothing but guilt."

"Well, I can't deny that possibility."

"That's why Sasamiya shouldn't be with us. If it's Sasamiya, I think 'Aomori Kazeya Soshinfuuya' would be a perfect clan fit for her."

"...'Aomori Kazeya' huh?"

"Why? What is it?"

"No, I think it's a perfect fit."

Sasamiya-san was glancing at us as we were whispering. Well, she was mainly staring at Tanaka while we were talking anyway.

"This is for Sasamiya's sake."

Such words spilled out of Tanaka's mouth.

Looking at him, I felt a pain in the right side of my neck.

So I turned to Tanaka and said,

"Well, I can understand your reasoning to a degree. If you think it's in Sasamiya-san's best interest, then go ahead and do it. Just remember-"

And while daring to remove my gaze from Tanaka, I added

"In the end, it is not you but Sasamiya-san herself who decides what to do. Don't make the mistake of thinking otherwise."

"I'll keep that in mind."

From the sound of his voice, I sensed that Tanaka was laughing somehow.

I don't know to what extent he understood the intent of my words.

　But I don't intend to be a fool and turn a blind eye to this.

The rest is up for both of you to decide, you idiots.

I left Tanaka and went to the two people who had been calling me since a while ago.

"For the meantime, please just tell them that I'm tired, Mashira."

"I'm not mad enough to get tired yet."

Frustrated, Mashira turns away grimly.

　On the other hand, a smiling Kon was standing beside me.

"What is it?"

"Nothing, I just thought that what you said earlier was very Ruu-kun-like."

"I'm sure you've overheard my conversation with Tanaka?"

I was sure we were far away from her, we were whispering too.

"I was quite quiet, but it was the result of years of training. My ears can't miss a single word that comes out of Ruu-kun’s mouth even if there is some distance between us."

Oi, what kind of nasty gift even is that?

　Kon then gently whispered something in my ear.

"I thought Ruu-kun was wonderful once again. If I could, I would explain why to everyone here in detail."

"Seriously, please don't do that."

"I won't do it. I should be the only one who knows about the wonderful things about Ruu-kun."

Lately, I've been thinking about some things a lot more often.

　There are so much scarier things happening to me recently.

　Anyway, the case is now safely closed.

　The "false world" that had lost its human pillar was collapsing, and along with it, the "hole" that had appeared here was supposed to close.

"I've been thinking about it for a while now, but isn't there something wrong with that 'hole'?"

　After hearing Mashira's words, I looked in her direction.

　And then I immediately sensed something was wrong.

Normally, after escaping from the "false world" with the victim, the cracks in the space from the "hole" should gradually disappear from the edges.

　However, there was no change at all in the "hole" we had just emerged from.

I immediately looked around.

The victim we rescued was already gone, having been transported away. All of us who broke in have returned.

　I took out my cell phone and checked "Cain," but our report of return was accepted, and no one was supposed to be in that "False World".

Despite this, the "hole" that served as the entrance to the "false world" showed no sign of disappearing.

An accident.

　A conceivable possibility--

The moment this crossed my mind, I looked to Ikuto-san.

"Hello, Homura-san? Yes, this is Ikuto. We have an emergency."

As expected, Ikuto-san immediately recognized the situation. Before I could say anything, he already had already begun to make his move.

　He called our clan master, and signaled with his eyes, "I'll take care of the rest, so please go quickly."

"Tanaka and the others will stay here and wait. Komame and Mashira, follow me."

We then reached into the "hole" that we had just emerged from--

-And once again, we stepped into the "false world" that was supposed to be gone.

When I left the tatami-matted hall and headed toward the front entrance, I found that none of the "fake beats" that had been standing still near the gate earlier were there.

"You know, Ruusuke. I really don't understand this situation. Explain."

"The "false world" will only disappear when the victims who are human pillars are rescued. It should cease to exist once the victims and all the "Awakened" who had entered it have escaped and only then will the "hole" will be closed."

"You can say that, but...."

　At that moment, the sound of something exploding could be heard in the distance.

In addition, the cries of the "fake beasts" could be heard.

"Let's go!"

We began running while deploying our "disguises" as we headed as fast as we could along the roofs of the houses towards the explosion.

"Ruu-kun, is there someone else in here?"

I nodded at the words of Kon with an "ah" who was following behind me.

"There is a possibility that there are some "Awakened" who were left behind in this "false world" that we don't know about. We need to go help them immediately."

Hearing this, Mashira smiled wryly.

"By the way, Ruusuke. What happens if we, the "Awakened," are beaten by the "fake beasts" in the "false world?"

　It was a question that was too simple to ask.

It seems silly to even answer.

　There is nothing special that happens. It is just like in the real world.

"You'll die."

"That's right."