Apocalypse Witch:Volume1 Chapter2

Status: Incomplete

5/14 parts completed

   

Chapter 2

Part X

A special G21 summit is being held here in London. The signs point toward the topic being countermeasures against the Threat that has shaken so many people’s lives, so there is reason to suspect the Problem Solvers have been summoned here for more than just summit security.

The Problem Solvers are very busy, but we have managed to get Miss Yukino Arakawa to spare some time to speak with us.

“I must apologize, but I cannot provide any of the gossip you are likely hoping for.”

Is there indeed a connection between the G21’s primary topic and the Problem Solver presence here?

“I am simply providing security for the summit, so I have not even been informed what that main topic is. Thus, I cannot answer that question.”

The five of you are like our guardian deities, but you are also a central pillar of global infrastructure. If conditions destabilize, would it hinder those services?

“There is nothing to worry about there. For one thing, I am not sure what you even mean by conditions destabilizing and what do we have to fear anyway? Everyone watching this footage continues to receive power to their homes and what greater symbol is there of a rock-solid system there? Everyone is under our protection. Do not forget how reassuring that is.”

So to be absolutely certain, you are saying the Threat is not approaching this city and there is no need to evacuate?

“That I can answer with a wholehearted yes. The appearance of the Threat can be predicted in advance, so if danger signs are detected, the information will be immediately released and evacuating all of you will take top priority. And even if a full evacuation is not possible, there is nothing to worry about while we are in the area. We will swiftly deal with the Threat and keep the damage to a minimum.”

But no information on your battles with the Threat has been released and some tabloids and online news sites have voiced concerns that your success rate at driving back the Threat is not as high as we are led to believe.

“Are you making intentionally provocative statements to see how we respond? Information on the Threat is not released because we do not want unnecessary fear and chaos to spread to safe regions. Also, our combat methods are meant for use against the Threat, so we do not want knowledge of them to spread and perhaps fall into the wrong hands. I imagine some of the people making a fuss about the information restrictions are more interested in us than in the Threat.”

Also, it has been noted that Miss Elicia is absent this time.

“No comment☆ Mystery is the spice of life. Plus, we are talking about me at the moment, are we not?”

Part 1

A loud crash echoed through the RV.

Instead of switching off the TV, someone had thrown the remote and broke the LCD screen.

“Omotesandou-san.”

“Oh, dear. How thoughtless of me. Sorry if I made you jump. Hee hee hee.”

Student Council President Omotesandou Kyouka smiled in a way that showed she was not at all sorry about what she had done.

The weather forecast for the night had been way off.

Or rather, the weather forecast “during the solar eclipse”.

Utagai Karuta and Kyouka were alone in the RV. Amaashi Marika and Aine were out getting some food for them all. He doubted those two would screw anything up and they could probably force their way through any problems even if they did. Before the attack by the Problem Solvers, they had been Crystal Magicians preparing to battle the Threat that was indiscriminately erasing countries, regions, and cities around the world, so even with the bolstered security during the summit, the police would not be enough to restrain those two.

They were in London.

It would have been unbelievable before the introduction of Crystal Magic, but the new materials and technologies that had led to a ship as large as their school had also created passenger planes large enough for an RV to fit in the general cargo bay. Those colossal ferry planes were often compared to winged whales.

Of course, it was that large size that meant it took years to break them down by hand and led to the entire human race relying on Elicia’s dinosaur.

Those five were given free rein because no one wanted to question their comfortable lifestyle.

And Karuta had been the same right up until he had everything taken from him.

“So we’ve been living together for a week now. This is really dragging on, isn’t it?”

“Yes, I suppose.”

He was living with Marika, Kyouka, and Aine. This small space with no real partitions was filled with girls. He was focused on taking revenge on the world’s strongest, hiding the crystallized teachers and students in the tropical cave, and protecting them from the Problem Solvers, but without those exceedingly heavy topics, he would have been overwhelmed in a different way.

The Student Council President laughed quietly.

“Are you starting to see the real me through the cracks in the ideal vision you had of me? I just hope I haven’t disillusioned you.”

“I never really knew anything about you. You were too far beyond my reach.”

“My, my. I don’t like it when people build walls to separate us. I thought I had won the election with my promise to keep things casual and friendly with everyone.”

That might have worked in a normal school, but they had been learning Crystal Magic to fight the Threat which could entirely erase a metropolis of a million people overnight. The top of their hierarchy would be the future world’s strongest, so no one could just walk up and talk to them like it was nothing. Instead of being called a pervert and receiving a slap, the entire earth could be destroyed.

“Boo, boo,” said Kyouka while childishly puffing out her cheeks. “Ahh, ahh. I’d love to be friends with Karuta-kun and talk with him more, but how am I supposed to remove this imaginary wall between us?”

“What are you talking about now?”

“Perhaps we just need to get to know each other more intimately. Oh, I know. We could take a bath together.”

“………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………”

She laughed at the indescribable look on his face.

“I’m kidding.”

“I should hope so.”

“But I am feeling sweaty, so I’d like a shower. Karuta-kun, can you help me?”

“Wait, were you kidding or not!?”

That said, he had no choice but to help her here. The RV had been customized in a number of ways, but it was not entirely barrier free.

It was a high-grade vehicle with beds, a sofa, a stove, a fridge, a microwave, a washer, and a dryer, but the bath was not up to the standards a Japanese person was used to. To save space, it only had a shower contained in a stall no larger than a phonebooth. There was no actual tub.

After pushing her wheelchair over to the shower, it was time to get to work. He needed to place his hands on her back and behind her knees and lift her into the shower room. That princess style was not strictly necessary, but when he had lifted her over his shoulder like a sack of rice on the first day, she had refused to speak to him for about half a day. That was apparently also called bandit style.

“Heh heh. I got Karuta-kun to princess carry me.”

“…”

He tried to empty his mind so he did not focus on the softness and warmth in his hands or the scent of her hair while he gently placed her butt down on the small floor of the phonebooth-sized space. She was still wearing her uniform at this point, but he could not help her change. She was not like a certain idiot who was willing to sleep in the nude with only a single sheet covering her.

“Okay, Karuta-kun, bring me a change of clothes.”

“Sure, sure.”

“And if I scream, come rescue me. I will leave the door unlocked.”

“I really don’t think you can drown on the floor here.”

“Just do it.”

She shut the door that folded up to the side to save space. Digging through a girl’s possessions was embarrassing, but she had given him permission and she needed a change of clothes or she would be stuck in there naked.

(This one is her bag, right?)

Given the limited space of the RV, they each only had a single sports bag of personal possessions. Kyouka had a sexy and mature appearance, but her bag had a cute pastel color design.

The neatly underwear neatly folded up within came in a lot of surprisingly colorful varieties.

“…”

Clear your mind, clear your mind!! he told himself.

He moved aside the thick metal detachable disk drives at the top of the bag and reached for the items he needed.

(She wants something to sleep in, so that means a large dress shirt and underwear. Um, this should work. The top and bottom should have matching colors, right?)

“This is to sleep in, so I don’t need a bra.”

He jumped and looked back.

His upperclassman’s teasing voice reached him from the shower room.

“They’re big in a number of ways, so they make it hard to sleep in a number of ways.”

Her words were making him feel things in a number of ways, but the bigger problem was how the foldable door was sitting partially open. A hand stuck out from there and dropped a blazer, a blouse, a pleated skirt, and finally some stripped-off underwear.

“Wait, um, Omotesandou-san!?”

“I am about to take a shower. If I left them in here, they would get soaked.”

She was absolutely right, but she was also absolutely teasing him.

With some laughter a little too mature to call impish, her hand pulled back inside and the door pulled all the way shut. Finally, he heard the gentle sound of running water.

Utagai Karuta focused even harder on clearing his mind.

Ahh, ahh. That sexy Student Council President is in that phonebooth-sized shower room, her beautiful butt must be seated on the floor since she can’t stand up, and is she holding the shower hose in one hand to wash herself off? Is that warm water flowing down her hair and dripping down the contours of her body!? Is it, is it, is it!?

A minor big bang was occurring in his brain.

And then he heard her voice from beyond the foldable door.

“Kyah!”

“?”

“Kyah, Karuta-kuuun!”

“…”

“Hold on. Didn’t you promise to come save me if I screamed?”

“Yeah, but that was way too fake!!”

“Just get over-…hyahn!? (Thud!)”

“Huh? Omotesandou-san? What was that?”

“Bubble, bubble, bubble, gurgle, gurgle, gurgle.”

“Geh, are you for real!?”

She could not have stepped on the soap and slipped since she was seated, so had she sat her big butt on it and slipped that way? Talk about a miracle. He decided he wanted to be reborn as a bar of soap in the next life. However, life-threatening crises were not always some big dramatic thing. People could drown even in a puddle.

That was why he rushed over and reached for the shower room door.

“We’re back! We bought the brands of oil and powder you asked for. Everything’s a real mess with the collapse in the first-generation resource markets for iron and aluminum, though. And man, the food situation in England can only be described as yikes. I just about fainted checking out the supermarket.”

“It turns out London has a Japanese confection store. Their gold powder monaka was the best.”

The two girls returned with the best timing imaginable.

“Hee hee.”

And the wet-haired, mischievous, and laughing girl curled up on the bathroom floor was not helping matters.

The resultant chemical reaction was more explosive than a thermobaric weapon.

The record for the world’s most dangerous mixture was broken on that day.

Part 2

It was 2PM in London.

However, the mysterious solar eclipse meant it was as dark as midnight.

“Hmph.”

“Now, I would like to get down to business.”

“You need to apologize first! Apologize for everything!!”

“What are you so upset about!? And what am I even apologizing for!? What did I do wrong in that situation!?”

Curly twintails Marika had been collapsed on the sofa bed for a while, but now she threw her hands in the air and shouted back at him.

“Ughh, ahhhh! You need to apologize for having such bad karma!!”

“This is getting awfully dark awfully fast! Besides, that Student Council President set me up!”

This may have been a lot like their noisy days back at the Ocean Crystal Magic Academy. Karuta himself sensed something nostalgic in this storm he was caught in.

But things had changed.

They now had a sexy eye of the storm.

“Oh, how could you, Karuta-kun? After everything we did while they were gone, you’re trying to place all the blame on the girl?”

“Hey, don’t blush and place your hands on your cheeks like that. Was a thermobaric weapon not enough for you?”

Karuta asked this of the Student Council President who was wearing the dress shirt she used as pajamas. Crystal Girl Aine was standing expressionlessly in a corner of the RV, but she was simply awaiting further orders. She must not have understood the danger here because she silently tilted her head.

Karuta got straight to the point as coldly as a bank teller just before closing time.

“Okay, okay, that’s enough of that! Let’s get back on topic!!”

“Hmph!”

“(Oh, dear. Yet she’s the one who sleeps in the nude. How hypocritical of her.)”

However, the Student Council President was mature enough to keep those personal thoughts to herself as she got down to business.

“Our top priority target this time is Yukino Arakawa.”

She used the projector to cover the wall with photos taken from news sites or online articles.

“Unlike Elicia and her dinosaur, this woman did not directly board the ship. That makes it hard to say anything for certain, but she is almost certainly the one who sank the escort ships with the light spears. I saw her giving instructions from the open cargo door of their tiltrotor craft and, while it is unconfirmed, she is well-known for ‘bringing an eclipse’ wherever she goes. So she is likely in London right now. Of course, we do not know what the Threat itself is, so who knows how reliable any of this information is,” added the wet-haired Student Council President. “Every member of the Problem Solvers is a monster, but Yukino’s light spear is one I want to get rid of as early as possible. Both because of how destructive it is and because of its wide range. We should assume she controls everything within the range of that unnatural eclipse. That means there is no real safe zone on the surface of the earth. If she knows where you are, you are dead. The longer this fight drags on, the more information on us will become available, so I want to take care of her before she can narrow things down too far.”

Take care of.

Get rid of.

In other words, they were going to kill her just like they did Elicia.

This was very different from their classes where they had planned to face the Threat but had no concrete image of what that would entail.

Karuta was having trouble deciding if he could call that “growth” or not.

“But what even is that light spear?” he asked as if to distract himself from that issue.

Curly twintails Marika waved a hand dismissively while still puffing out her cheeks.

“Who knows, but it looked like laser beams from the sky.”

“I doubt she is using bombers because the attack came from much higher. I imagine she has something in satellite orbit, but I cannot say much more than that.” The Student Council President placed a finger on her lips. “Still, we do know the Problem Solvers were in charge of defending that space elevator that was thought to be useless junk, so what if there is a connection there?”

“You mean it might be solar power generators or interception satellites?”

“I have heard some rumors,” began Omotesandou Kyouka with a sigh. “It was never completed, but there was something known as the Sunny Side Up Project. It was said to be history’s largest planetary expansion project.”

“A fried egg?” asked strawberry blonde Marika while frowning on the sofa bed.

“Only fried on one side if you want to get technical,” responded Crystal Girl Aine while still tilting her head.

Kyouka sighed softly before continuing.

“The identity of the Threat is unknown, but it is known it does not leave the atmosphere. This plan intended to bring the ordinary citizenry outside the atmosphere and transform the blue planet into nothing more than farmlands and a cage for the Threat. The base of the elevator is supposed to be quite sturdy, so the combat personnel and the maintenance team for the unmanned farms would have been stationed underground there. There were blueprints showing a network of station houses surrounding the planet in a sphere one size bigger, so it was apparently more about expanding the surface of the planet instead of traveling out into space. Hence why it was known as a planetary expansion project.”

“Ugh…”

When looking at a cross-section, was the earth seen as the yolk and the outer shell seen as the white?

If you were going to slice it apart, a boiled egg or Scotch egg seemed more accurate, but whoever named it had probably let their personal egg preference dictate the choice.

“Its primary material was supposed to be a solid foam that is harder and more heat-resistant than steel and can also swell out to fill a large space with only a small amount of the original material. The presentation said the living space and the farming zone would be kept entirely separate so human-made contaminants would not find their way back into nature…but it was a little over the top even for an endeavor meant to support 5.5 billion people. The earth’s rotation differs between latitudes, so it seems like their network would fall apart if they did not find some way to match their relative speeds.”

The earth was already surrounded.

Sunny Side Up played two roles.

First, it allowed environmental adjustments on a global scale. By efficiently increasing the amount of natural land, there would be more food for the human population “temporarily” living in satellite orbit.

“So the light spears use their immense heat to stir up the air and create winds and rainclouds.”

And second, it would eliminate the Threat lurking on the surface.

“And at the same time, they are a weapon meant to literally shoot down the Threat?” asked Karuta.

Kyouka nodded.

He looked awed but also exasperated by the large scale of it all.

“Even if one shot is not enough, they must have thought they could wear the Threat down by continually firing from outside the atmosphere. Or maybe it was only meant to distract the Threat if it got too close to the farmlands. It is unclear how permanently it was meant to ‘eliminate’ the Threat.”

But it was more than enough when used against human beings.

Karuta and the others had learned all too well how powerful it was when it sunk those escort ships one after another.

“Since it has not been demolished, I imagine it is benefiting the world through its production facilities and power generation. Even without a largescale microwave or laser power transmission system, that remnant of an older age may still be in use to transfer the power.”

“The space elevator.”

“If it can carry a payload to the ‘outer shell’ for less than 1% the cost of using a rocket or shuttle, then it could be used to transfer batteries the size of cargo containers back and forth. That could provide just enough of a reason to not demolish that elevator. Yukino’s strength in the global business world is said to be in Eurasia, but everything from Europe to China is a little much, don’t you think? She would need some kind of product that can cover half the planet.”

It was meant to be a warning for the Threat and to save the entire world.

But who was it that had converted it into no more than a rusty old tower?

Did the blame lie with Crystal Magicians like Karuta whose methods turned out to be cheaper?

“The eclipse might not be the result of some massive object appearing overhead. It could be the sky was already covered and the holes of the ‘net’ close up when Yukino prepares for combat.” The Student Council President tapped her wheelchair’s armrest with a finger. “Of course, chemistry and physics are not enough to explain a system like this. Like I said, the earth’s gravity and rotation would tear it apart if they do not match the relative speed of the entire network, but constantly using thrusters to preserve that would drain all the energy they had hoped to generate. That means God-Worshiping Magic must play a role. I believe Yukino’s specialty is the Celtic light god Lugh. He is a war god also known as ‘the god of the long arm’. Yes, that would be perfect for energy production and projectile attacks.”

If the connection between the space elevator and the Problem Solvers was closer than officially recognized, then they might not have been pleased with the Crystal Magicians who rejoiced at the elevator’s failure. (Mostly because Crystal Magic only worked on the surface, so moving onto that “outer shell” would be a problem for them.)

But more than that, the Problem Solvers used the God-Worshipping Magic of the previous era instead of Crystal Magic. Had the rise of Crystal Blossoms looked like a threat to them?

(No, there are too many unanswered questions about them.)

“Anyway, that was very bold of you, Karuta-kun,” began Kyouka with a sigh. “One of the Problem Solvers is gone. The world might not want to accept it, but the other four will know. And then you send them an anonymous message.”

She operated the projector to display the message in question.

Marika spoke up in a mixture of exasperation and awe.

“ ‘One of you is gone now, but I happen to know where you can find someone even stronger than Elicia “Saurus” Luxverg. I would like to meet you for an interview, so what would be a convenient date?’ ” Once the curly twintails girl finished reading it aloud, she put on a mischievous smile. “You could take that as letter of responsibility, you know? You are aware of Elicia’s death despite it being covered up, you say you know where to find someone even stronger, and then you say you want to meet them.”

“But they can’t ignore it, can they?” bluntly asked Karuta. “They know Elicia is dead, but they won’t know who did it. They won’t want someone like that to slip away and disappear. It doesn’t matter to them if the author of the letter is that person or not. They just want to crush anyone it might be. And they just have to keep it up until the problem has stopped.”

Crystal Girl Aine kept her head tilted throughout and she spoke while her silver hair shook.

“So they will rush in despite knowing it is a trap?”

“It may be more accurate to say we’re getting them to set up a trap and wait for us,” spat out Karuta. “The Problem Solvers are international society’s most prized possessions, so they have to be held in reserve. We are pursuing them as much as they are pursuing us. We can’t let them go into hiding. Our top priority is Yukino Arakawa. That is the bare minimum here. We have to take her out first, but then we need to take out as many other Problem Solvers as we can while we’re at it. After all, we know they’ve all been summoned to London for the G21 summit.”

They would take out the Problem Solvers.

He could say it so easily, but only because they had already done it once with Elicia “Saurus” Luxverg. He knew they could be defeated. Proving that did wonders on the psychological front.

And with that in mind, he ran right into the problem he had been trying not to think about.

Yes.

“Okay, then that’s our next target,” said Marika.

“Yukino Arakawa,” said Kyouka. “This sounds like a worthy challenge. I have no complaints about holding a fight to the death against her.”

Karuta could not immediately say the same.

A bitter feeling had been building up in his gut throughout the planning, but Aine spoke to him while standing in a corner of the RV.

“Do not worry, Sacri-sama.”

“About what?”

“No one will steal your kill this time. Let’s make sure we kill her ourselves.”

If she was not shaped like a cute girl, he might have punched her on reflex.

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.”

Part 4

The Palace of Westminster was the national parliament building symbolized by its giant clocktower. It was blocked off by even more barricades and armored vehicles than the rest of London during the high alert.

An Asian woman with short black hair sat on the rooftop.

She wore a nun’s habit…expect the slits in the skirt were too risqué and she was not wearing a cross anywhere on her person. She was also holding a metal staff taller than she was. She had a tall but slender build and her closed eyes gave her a somehow calm air.

Her name was Yukino Arakawa.

She was the Problem Solver who used the optical bombing known as a light spear.

This job should have been a simple one.

The death of Elicia Luxverg, AKA Saurus, had been a painful blow. They had also learned that the assassin was here in London. But the city was on high alert, so if anyone did anything suspicious, the network of police would immediately restrain them and she could drop a light spear there. They would have no chance to dodge or defend before they were vaporized along with a few police officers.

Yes.

If she received an alert or two, she could have dealt with this so easily!

“We demand all of the governments and the Problem Solvers release what information they have on the Threat!!”

“You have a duty to explain what happened to the missing countries, regions, and cities!!”

“How can we sleep knowing that could be us tomorrow!? I have a kid at home!!”

(Why must they all do this!?)

As that deluge of voices reached her like a distant rumbling, Yukino softly clenched her teeth behind her calm expression.

Her earphones played the voices of requests from police officers who did not properly understand the situation.

They were not asking for help from the power of the Problem Solvers.

“Problem Solvers, do not move from your current positions!”

“We must make sure the G21 summit comes to a close with the best possible security in place, so we lose if you move from your posts.”

“Don’t use tear gas! Bring out the water trucks! Bloody hell, why don’t any of the shops have their shutters down!?”

If her trap was not functioning, she was effectively in the jungle with a ferocious beast.

The safest option would be to leave this place and go into hiding, but the police would not let her. They insisted she stay put and get attacked.

She was seething inside, but then someone else contacted her.

It was a fellow Problem Solver.

“Kah kah kah. Don’t get so upset. And you call yourself one of the great Problem Solvers?”

“…”

“Besides, the police don’t know what’s going on. Not even that Elicia kicked the bucket. Of course they’re going to take a laxer view of things.”

“I am aware of that.”

“The media has a strong presence here and there are also a lot of amateur video obsessives who think they’re part of the media. Keep grimacing and you’ll lose all that pretentious vanity you love so much.”

Yukino thought for a moment.

The Problem Solvers preserved global order. If they were shaken, it would cause unnecessary chaos in countries and cities around the world. That was why their external image was so important, but that was also why they could not afford to be wounded in any noticeable way.

Even if it was only a scratch achieved through some kind of nightmarish beginner’s luck.

After completing the necessary calculations in her head, she slowly stood up from the roof.

“Then there is something I can do about it,” she said to her colleague. “I beseech thee, Lugh, Celtic God of Light.”

“Hold on, you aren’t doing that in London, are you? I know I’m not one to talk, but you can’t exactly ‘hold back’ with your weapon. You should let one of the others deal with this or it’ll just be a slaughter.”

“If necessary, I can have Anastasia take care of it.”

“Are you for real?” The person on the line sounded half shocked and half amused. “You really plan on crushing London, a city of 8 million? And in the middle of a G21 summit at that?”

The nun with large slits in her habit raised her staff as she responded.

She did not hesitate to give this answer.

“If necessary.”

Between the Lines 2

Back to Chapter 1

Return to Main Page

Forward to Chapter 3