Kino no Tabi:Volume5 Chapter4

Chapter 4: “Land of Heroes” ~No Hero~ Kino was exhaling white breath as she unloaded the bag from Hermes’ carrier. She was wearing a black jacket and a hat on her head, and her goggles remained strapped on her face. ‘Cannon’ was hanging beside her right thigh. She opened the bag. A disassembly-type rifle persuader was strapped on the inside of the cover. “It seems that it will be useful right away, Kino” “Yeah, though I’m not very happy about it.” The rifle is divided into two portions. The first half consists of a black metal frame, on the side of which a prominently long cylinder is attached. The second half consists of the wooden stock and a sniper’s scope. “It was seven people, huh.” “They survived.” Kino connected the two parts of the rifle and locked them together. She slung the leather strap of the rifle’s butt in front. She took out a cloth shoulder bag from the box on one side of Hermes’ rear wheel. Inside, there’s a magazine containing nine bullets, which she loaded into the rifle. “Oh, right. Did you name that rifle after all?” “I called it ‘Flute’.” Kino released Flute’s bolt and loaded the first round. She carefully tucked the sash of the shoulder bag in a corner of her belt. While taking out Cannon’s spare magazine from inside, “Hermes” “Hmm?” “If I do not come back, then by that time I got someone else to ride you.” “Ok. Well, if possible, a person like you would be nice.” Kino touched Cannon on her right side, “I’ll try.” She transferred the spare magazines inside the pouch. “Just in case, I’m going to say it now. ―― Goodbye Kino.” “Yeah. ―― Goodbye” Kino answered, and Hermes, “Yup. Then in that case, have a nice day. Never mind the souvenirs,” in a tone of voice without any hint of tension. “Sure, I’ll be going now,” Kino said with a face which was a little stern, and also a little amused. Kino slowly put her head out from her spot. Along the street, identical buildings of a housing complex were arranged side by side. Heavy clouds cover the surface of the sky, giving it a dull gray and overcast look. From time to time, the cold wind blows strongly. There was no sign of life between the three-story brick buildings along the street, and broken glass windows can be found here and there. On the cobblestones, there are freely growing weeds and naturally made dead tracks. Kino rushed out and ran at full speed to the other side of the building. At the moment Kino took cover beside the entrance stairs, a bullet came flying towards her, and quickly passed through to her side. A fierce hum was heard as the bullet sped past the speed of sound. “There you are,” Kino muttered, as she saw a person’s silhouette setting up a rifle on the other side of the street. She then turned her body and disappeared to the other side of the building. “Went outside. He’s fast,” a tall man said. “It’s a young person. He abandoned the Motorad, huh. He has a rifle……. Be alert,” a bald man holding a pair of binoculars said. The men around him nodded. There were seven men. A bald man. A very short man. A bearded man. A big, muscular man. A man wearing a thick hat. A tall and skinny man. A man carrying a big rucksack. Everyone appears to be above fifty years of age. As for their clothing, they were wearing similar uniforms, which are full of patches. Heavy pants and jacket of a navy blue color. Belts with pouches for ammunition are wrapped around their waists and chests. Only the bald man has a hand persuader holster slung on his right hip. Everyone is grasping rifle-type Persuaders in their hands. For every shot, the ejection pod had to be manually reloaded, bolt-action style. The rifles have wooden stocks. The shot earlier was from the tall man, who expertly operated the bolt to reload. His gun is the only one with a sniper’s scope attached to it. The bald man spoke. “Follow me.” The men slowly moved forward along the wall by the side of the street, poising their Persuaders by their hips. As they passed in front of the courtyard where Hermes is parked, Kino silently peeked from the alley she’s been hiding in. There is no other place she can hide in on both sides of the alley. 　Without speaking, the bald man signaled the men with his left arm to move simultaneously in pairs, while providing back-up for each other. Out of the narrow alley, they came out to a neighboring and similar-looking street. There’s nobody. The man with the hat who went first found barely visible footprints. When the men returned to their hiding place in the alley, the bald man spoke. “He escaped to the east.” “The eastern district has many wide roads. It will be difficult for him to hide,” the rucksack-carrying man said from the side. “He probably doesn’t know. That’s good for us.” Next to him, the very short man said with a laugh. --- Shortly after, “No. ―― That guy must have escaped to the slums. There was no noise here. We should have heard some noise,” the tall man said. A wind blew through the street and wound up in the alley. He was standing on a cloud of dust. “…………” The men looked at each other silently, exhaling white breath. The bald man gave several small nods, and then spoke. “Don’t let down your guard. That guy is better than I thought. At this rate, he will be cornered once he reaches the Eastern border. Then we can kill him.” “Ok,” “Understood,” the men replied nervously. Along the housing complex, the street extends to the east. Towards a park full of dead trees, the end of the road divided into two directions. On the side of the street with buildings, the men separated into two groups and silently moved forward. The park ahead looked small. Going first, the man with the hat traced the footsteps. He carefully walked, positioning his Persuader below his waist. The footsteps on the right side of the street continued straight to the park. The men proceeded quietly. Very near the park, the shapes of dead trees can be clearly seen from a distance. Suddenly, the man with the hat stopped. With his left fist raised up to his shoulder, he signaled the men behind him to halt. At the same time, everyone looked out in all directions, and the last two people in the line aimed their Persuaders to the back. “…………” The man with the hat saw the footprints with his sharp eyes. From there, the footprints continued a bit and then vanished. On the other side, there were neither traces of jumping, nor a place to jump from. The man with the hat slowly backed away by four steps. He traced back his own footprints, confirming the depth of the tracks. He carefully went back by changing the orientation of his body, while carefully watching his every step. The other men observed in silence. The man with the hat stopped in his tracks. There was a little hesitation in the sound of his footsteps. He noticed jump marks on the right side. When the man raised his head, he saw a dimly lit alley, blocked by the debris of a collapsed roof. The man with the hat pointed his Persuader towards the alley. And then the man’s right thigh burst open. Blood and flesh scattered. “Guh!” Only a scream and the sound of a falling body were heard from the street. “A sniper!” 　 The large man shouted from a nearby wall. All the men clung to the wall for cover. The man who was shot twisted his body to an upright position, pressing down his right thigh with both hands. Fresh blood overflowed from the wound. “From which direction?!” the bald man shouted. With an anguished expression, the man with the hat attempted to raise his right hand to point. At that moment, a second bullet crushed his left knee. “Gyaa-!” The man with the hat writhed in pain. He tumbled face down, trembling and shaking while blood oozed from both of his legs. “Damn!” Where is he?!” “There was no gunshot!” “Which direction?!” the men shouted while clinging to the wall. They looked out in front. Kino has positioned Flute beside the debris, and was peeking through the scope. The cylinder from the side was screwed to the tip of the barrel. That suppressor (gunshot silencer) extinguished most of the gunshot’s sound. From the scope’s view, ahead of the dark and narrow alley where the main street is, the man who fell down was clearly visible. The man’s mouth is wide open. “Gaaaaah!” The shot man raised a scream. He moved his arms, trying to crawl even if only a little to a safe place. He used some force, but almost did not move. “Wait! I’ll go!” The large man left his Persuader and removed his ammunition belt. Then he jumped out to save his fallen comrade. Kino aimed at the new target, moved her aim a little, and shot. “Don’t come out!” As the bearded man shouted, half of the head of the large man flew out, dropped like a tomato and was blown off at the same time. Both of his hands are still turned towards the fallen man; and as he collapsed forward, made a blunt, loud noise. He stopped moving soon after. The tall man saw the blood and brains fly out to his left, and screamed. “To the right! Not in front! Next to the alley!” “Flares!” the bald man said, and the men lit and threw away the flares they were holding. They dropped down the alley wall as a dull purple smoke enshrouded them. Just before the cloud thickened, Kino aimed at and shot the struggling man on the ground. After firing, Kino picked up four fallen cartridges by her side, and made her escape. The smoke in the alley only lasted for a while before it was cleared away by the wind blowing from the main street. The tall man established his aim to the back of the alley. Nobody is there anymore. The bald man squatted beside the fallen man. His legs and stomach were stained a deep red. The rucksack-carrying man was desperately pressing down his clothes, but the pouring of the blood did not show any sign of stopping. He stood up slowly. “I’m sorry……. I was trying to pull my leg…….” The man with a hat said with a thin voice. “Don’t talk,” the bald man said. “Enough……. I don’t see a thing anymore……” As tears flowed out from his big, gaping eyes, the man with the hat died. "…………” The bald man gently closed his comrade’s eyes. He searched the chest of the corpse and pulled out the chain of a pendant. It was a small, round pendant with a star design. He removed the chain and put it in his breast pocket.　 Meanwhile the bearded man, “…………” He silently held out the large man’s pendant. The bald man took it and carefully placed it in his pocket like the other one. The clinking of the two metals made a small, dry sound. The two corpses were placed on the stone pavement. Their faces were covered by cloth. “We’ll bury them later. After killing that guy, that is,” the bald man said. “He probably used an automatic-fire type, which can also suppress the gunshot. The accuracy is also good. It’s an excellent Persuader,” the rucksack-carrying man said while aiming his Persuader and looking at his surroundings. The tall man nodded. “If we also have that” The bald man, “It’s too late to start talking about this. What we can do now is to give our best,” he said in a somewhat bad tone. The bald man spread a map he took out from his breast pocket. He held it in a way that wouldn’t let it get blown away by the wind. In the faded map, the appearance of the circular country was accurately drawn. Towards the eastern sector, a long park extends parallel to several streets and dead ends. Across the park, the same type of housing complex continues on, and over there, ‘almost collapsed’ is written with a pen. “Do you think he would run away like this?” the tall man asked. “If it were me, I will wait in ambush somewhere again. He would have come here without abandoning the Motorad but that engine is just too noisy,” the bearded man answered.　 “Then……, across the park’s ‘street ruins’?” the rucksack-carrying man asked. The bald man thought for a few seconds while looking at the map, and then spoke. “That bastard. If he thought we would give chase immediately, he wouldn’t waste his time crossing the park. He would be hiding in a building, let us get past and then annihilate us from behind in the park or the main street. What do you think?” Without letting his vigilant eyes rest, the tall man said, “If it were me, that’s what I would do. With an automatic-type, I’ll take on everyone at once.” He said in a whisper. The bald man gave a small nod. “We’ll divide into two groups, and search the balcony from both corners of the park. ――We will outsmart him” --- “This is boring……” Hermes muttered. No one is inside the inner courtyard, except for broken windows and clothes hung out to dry being blown by the wind. “So boring……” He muttered for a second time, when from afar, a gunshot rang. “Oh, maybe Kino was done in already?” Hermes said, as he heard several shots in rapid succession.　 “Oh, alive, still alive” --- “I was found so easily!” Kino said while running down the stairs of a building. The short man and the rucksack-carrying man shot several rounds towards the third floor balcony where Kino was hiding. Kino landed on the first floor and rushed through the living room after kicking open the doorway. Bullets came flying immediately and while she skipped over a hole of chipped wood, two more opened at the same time. “There are two people at the right…… They separated into two groups, huh.” Kino was on the eastern side of the street, in front of the park at the very end of the housing complex. Right in front of the door, a road runs from north to south. The park with dead trees stretched along it. “Getting cornered would be very bad. There are only a few directions to go to……” Kino went inside a house in the southern sector and found a window made of frosted glass in the bathroom. She quietly raised open the dusty window, and came out to the courtyard. Passing through an arch, she ran from east to west towards the corner of the wide street. She laid down and put her arms around Flute, ready to shoot at any moment. Kino spied towards the direction of the park. On the other side of the street, just to the left of a similar courtyard entrance, the park intersects with the main road. On the opposite corner of the building, the tip of the barrel of a rifle can be seen; right next to it is the face of the short man. Kino caught glimpse of the face for a moment, then a bullet came flying and bounced on the stone pavement. Kino got up and carried Flute. With her right hand, she unlatched Cannon, and fired one shot without a particular target from the corner. The bullet flew away towards the park, and the men turned their attention to the sound. Kino immediately transferred Cannon to her left hand. She placed her empty right hand to the cloth bag and took out one bottle. It was a medicine bottle containing a greenish liquid explosive. A short fuse was stuck in the mouth of the bottle. Kino loaded one bullet in Cannon, ignited the fuse, and fired. The bullet opened a hole in the courtyard wall. She pitched the bottle with an underthrow. The bottle slowly made its way diagonally across the street, and fell near the corner of the building without breaking and with only a little sound. Kino immediately squatted down, covered her ears with both of her hands and opened her mouth. “Grenade!” Crawling from the corner, the short man attempted to aim, shouting while staring at the bottle thrown at him. “Get down!” The short man stood up, dragging his fallen comrade. He was facing down and his feet are pointed towards the corner. The bottle exploded. The explosion sent out a large amount of the characteristic white smoke of liquid explosives, which covered the entire intersection. This scene was also witnessed by the three men heading towards the battlefield from the north side of the park road. A second later, the low echo of the explosion was heard. “Is that him?” The bearded man said. The tall man peeped through the scope. As the white smoke quickly dissipated, he saw moving people through the crosshairs of the scope. The two fallen men were trying to get up. “The two are still alive.” As the tall man said this, the bald man spoke. “Let’s join up. It’s dangerous in the streets, let’s exit through the courtyard. Shoot when you see him.” The three men entered a nearby street. From the courtyard close by, they slipped inside a building one after another. The tall man guarded the south, while the bearded man took the north. There’s a plain building over the place where the stone pavement was dyed black from the explosion. Almost all of its glass windows are broken. The bald man looked at the two, and discovered no major injuries on their upper bodies. He dragged them right next to the building, and leaned them on the wall. “Are you alright?” The rucksack-carrying man shook his head a few times. Dust fell off him.“My ears were badly injured…….*Cough* Other than that, I’m fine.” “I’m not gonna die yet,” the short man said. His face was covered by scratches. Blood is flowing from his cheeks. The hem of his pants is slightly burnt. “Yeah……” The bald man handed the rucksack-carrying man a bottle of water. “Where did that guy disappeared to…… Is he dead?” the short man asked while wiping away the blood from his cheeks. The bald man answered. “No, he’s still alive. Like us, he used the explosion as a chance to continue through the courtyard, he must be afraid of getting cornered on the south side. We did not see his footprints in the dust.” “Son of a bitch……” The short man murmured annoyingly. Blood dripped from his mouth. The rucksack-carrying man silently passed the water bottle. The short man spewed out the water mixed with blood. “There he is. Crossing the park,” the tall man said. He was sitting with one knee up, right elbow on his right knee, and looking through the scope of the rifle poised on top of his left knee. Everyone looked at the same direction. The bald man looked at the target with his binoculars. The place was a distance away from the park with dead grass and weeds. From there the silhouette of a person is running across, which looked like a grain of rice with the naked eye, but with binoculars, the shape of a rifle can be clearly seen. “It’s far. Can we get him?” the bald man asked, “…………” the tall man was silent. His rifle’s leather strap was slung on his left arm. While balancing the rifle, he tried to catch the running opponent in the scope’s crosshairs. He slightly aimed higher and shot. A high-pitched gunfire rang. The men looked at the target. The target continued to run. He quickly loaded a second bullet. “…………” The tall man fired. The target continued to run. Third shot. A strong wind blew and raised a cloud of dust. Fourth shot. The target continued to run. The fifth round was fired. Just right after crossing the park, the target fell forward. “Did you get him?” the rucksack-carrying man from behind asked,　 “No. He concealed himself,” the bald man said, looking through the binoculars. The short man said, “Why?” 　 In a moment they heard, “Everybody down!” The bald man shouted. A figure aimed towards their direction was reflected in the binoculars. “!” In response, the men dropped down instantly. Only the tall man remained in his position after removing the last empty cartridge from his rifle. As Kino heard the sound of the fifth bullet tearing through the air, she pretended to fall diagonally, prostrate on the dead grass. She then positioned Flute and looked through the scope. Soon afterwards, the men saw her down, except for the person who just shot at her earlier. Kino aimed at that man. From a considerable distance, the wind blew. She moved the crosshair a little diagonally upwards, to where the man is. She fired. And continued to fire. No gunshot was heard. Only the buzz of the bullets being incessantly fired, and soon after, the bricks of the nearby stone pavements and buildings were chipped off successively. The four men covered their heads with their arms while lying down. Only the tall man was still poised on his empty Persuader, glaring through its scope towards the person who fired at them. “…………” He glared in silence. When the nine bullets of the magazine were spent, Flute’s bolt retracted and remained in its position. The man in the scope’s view did not change his position. “No good, huh……. I thought I’ll be able to get him with just one shot.” Kino stood up quickly, and while thin smoke is still rising from the heated barrel, she carried Flute under her arms and ran the remaining distance to the park. She cut across towards the main street. In front of here is a mountain of rubble. “Let’s follow. Spread out horizontally. He fled avoiding the front street and will soon cross the park. Don’t climb high on the street rubble. Be alert out front” As the bald man gave instructions, the lying men raised their heads. With their wrinkled glittering eyes, they stared towards the direction they’re heading to. “Let’s go.” The short man tapped the shoulder of the still sitting tall man, whose face is now slanderous. “Hey……” the tall man said. Sweat trickled down his cheeks. “What?” The tall man took out five pink bullets from his ammunition pouch. “That guy, that bastard……, I’ll kill him……” He pushed the bullets firmly into the rifle, one bullet a time. “Sure,” the short man nodded, helping up the man who was filling the rifle with bullets. “I’ll definitely kill him.” The man who stood up said in a thunderous voice. “Understood. ―― Let’s go” Of the remaining five men, the tall man set off. Blood started to gradually seep out from the flank of his jacket. After the explosion, five gunshots were heard. And then it became very silent. --- “It’s not yet over? ―― Could it be that Kino is having such a hard time? ―― That, or the other side is having trouble?” Hermes complained. “How boring……. Well, since the weather is bad, it’s not a bad idea to stay underneath this building. Finally it’s getting cold, but what will Kino do if the snow continues to fall. I don’t like it to fall down like this everyday……” He complained once again. --- “There……” the rucksack-carrying man said. On both sides of the housing complex, the top of the second floor was collapsed and destroyed. The rubble makes poor foothold, and built up a number of obstacles. The men concealed themselves with their backs behind where the rubble begins. “Hey,” the short man spoke to the tall man. On the left side, a hole collapsed where the wall was. “I’ll be the decoy. I’ll run to that hole, and if he shows his face, take him down. Whether it’s an arm or two, this time, be patient,” he said while grinning. The bald man and the tall man looked at each other, and nodded. The tall man clambered up the rubble, and slowly raised his head and Persuader as much as he can. “I’ll get you……” he murmured. “Let’s go!” The short man jumped out. He pushed through the rubble and run towards the hole. At the same time, the tall man rose up in a kneeling position. On the other side of the rubble, he saw the opponent raising both his head and rifle. “?” The tall man noticed that the opponent did not aim towards the man who jumped out. From the beginning, the opponent was aiming roughly towards his direction. At the moment he showed his face, she finished fixing her aim a little. “………” the man ground his molars. Kino fired. The bullet instantly moved to the top of the rubble. The tall man’s wide open left eye was hit, penetrating to the back of his head. When the man who ran and safely made it to the wall turned around, he saw blood spurting from the head of his fallen comrade. “That bastard! Damn it!” the man screamed. From the hole, the opponent revealed herself, aiming, and in the next moment, his rifle burst flying. The second bullet grazed his right arm and made a scratch. The man concealed himself in the hole, and then shouted. “There he is! Behind that car’s shade! Bottom left!” The men hid next to the rubble. Among the collapsed bricks, there is an abandoned car. The bald man showed his face for a moment to check. “We’ll get him. A grenade. Distance, eighty.” The rucksack-carrying man took out a rifle grenade from his bag. The blasting powder is on top of the thick cylinder; on the narrow cylinder’s rear a wing is attached. He opened the bolt of his own rifle, and filled the wooden warhead with special blank ammunition. He plugged the grenade at the tip of the barrel, and attached the gunsight to the rifle’s side. The bald man spoke. “Straight ahead.” The rucksack-carrying man nodded. He pulled out the safety pin on the grenade’s tip. He pressed the rifle’s stock to the ground, adjusted the angle with the gunsight, and pulled the trigger. Boom-! The grenade made a big, heavy explosive sound when it was launched. Kino heard the explosion, and reacted instantly. From the side of the car, she jumped to the right and ran six steps. At the back on the side of the car, the grenade exploded. The bearded man made a thumbs-down gesture to the man hiding behind the wall. The short man replied with a big shake of the head. “He ran to the side! To the leftmost side of the street!” “One more shot. A little to the left,” the bald man said. The man put down the rucksack, quickly reloaded blank ammunition, and placed a grenade at the tip of the rifle. He aimed, and fired. While dust and small stones dropped off Kino, she raised herself from her prone position. Then she sat on the top of the rubble, looking upward. The car which received a direct hit had all of its glass broken, and was reduced to scrap. With the second explosion, Kino set up Flute. A black mass rose up in the cloudy sky. Kino did not peek through the scope. From the bottom of the metal scope, she drew a high parabolic aim towards the mass and fired. An explosion occurred mid-air in the street. The explosion left a black smoke, and fine debris got scattered around one surface. “What?” The man who launched the grenade raised a surprised voice. “He shot it down! He shot down the grenade!” the short man shouted while clinging to the hole in the wall. “What a guy,” the bearded man muttered in shock. “Damn this guy……” the short man spat. His rifle was lying on top of the rubble. As he stuck out his face to spy, a bullet struck immediately. This time the bullet cut a line through his cheek, and crushed one brick of the building. “Damn it!” the man hid himself. While holding Flute, Kino removed the magazine with her left hand and inserted a new one. Debris fell from the top of her hat when she shook her head lightly.　 “I’ll go,” the bearded man said among the three men in front of the rubble. The other two looked at him. From the hole in the wall, the short man wrapped the wound in his right arm with cloth using his left hand and mouth. “I’ll go. I’ll take the rest of the explosives. At this point, there’s no reason for my comrades to get reduced any further. I’ll try to ‘persuade’ him.” After a while, the bald man looked at him, “Why does it have to be you?” he asked. The bearded man spoke. “I am the oldest, see. You should respect your elders.” “…………. Fine……” The bald man said, and took out a small shoulder bag from the rucksack. Inside, there are four box-shaped explosives. Another person took out from his waist pouch a tobacco-like object with a long cord. It was the fuse. “It will take seven seconds.” “I know.” The bearded man took this, carefully inserting it in the explosives and stopping it with his hand. The man pulled the pendant from his neck, and removed it. “Take care of this,” he held it out to the bald man and then, “I’ll take it back later.” “…… Right.” The bearded man dropped the pendant onto the outstretched hand, and held the hand tightly. Then he also held the hand of the other man. The bearded man inserted the fuse in the explosive, and hung the shoulder bag around his neck. He turned around so that he wouldn’t be seen up front. The tip of the cord is concealed by his neck. And then, “We have something to say!” A thick and loud voice came out. “We have something to say!” The bearded man lifted up both his hands, and slowly revealed himself from the rubble. Upon seeing him, the face of the man in the wall changed color – he instantly understood what he was trying to do. The bearded man walked over the rubble. No bullets came. Slowly, the man walked while checking his foothold. He passed in front of the hole in the wall. “We have something to say!” The wind carried the man’s voice, and it arrived to Kino clearly. Kino looked once at the hole in the wall and moved her aim to the head of the man with upraised hands. “We have something to say!” When the bearded man advanced halfway through; “Do not get any closer, please talk from there.” From there a voice replied. The man finally spoke with a voice just loud enough to be heard. “We have something to say! I don’t have a Persuader! I’ll go there!” The man continued to walk as he shouted. “I can hear you just fine, so please talk from there.” He ignored the voice and kept walking. “If you go any further, I’ll shoot. Please stop.” When the remaining distance is about one-third, he heard the order. The bearded man saw that he was being aimed at. It was a young person wearing a hat and goggles. The bearded man laughed once. And then, “Uwaaaaaaaaa!” He roared while running. He grasped the bag in his back with his right hand, and held the cord with his left. The first bullet hit in the belly. The second bullet hit his right lung. The man continued to rush forward. He pulled the cord with his left hand. The man’s right hand threw the bag with just enough force. He then released it from his hand. The third bullet hit the bag. Mid-air, the cloth made a ripping sound as a hole tore through it, and the bag’s forward force was extinguished. After throwing, the man who rolled face down saw the bag fell down right in front of his eyes. “! ―― Uwaaa-!” The man roared while he rose to pick it up; and ran as he held it in his arms. Kino did not fire a fourth bullet. She turned away from the field. She avoided the crumbling edge of the street, and began to run at full speed towards the center. There was an explosion. The explosion pierced through the north-south part of the street. The building began to collapse from the tremendous swaying caused by the explosion. The man in the wall jumped out as it was filled with dust. Soon the wall collapsed. No one can be seen any more in the street, where the dust rolled up like thunderclouds --- The shock from the explosion shook Hermes a little. “Oh-, earthquake, it’s an earthquake,” Hermes muttered, “‘The earthquake intensity just now is about one-half? ―― The shaking is especially greater in seaside areas, so be on alert for tsunamis. More details will be provided shortly in the news’,” he further said to himself. “So boring……” he murmured. --- The wind blew, and the dust had been wiped off and disappeared from the ruined street. “Did we do it……?” the bald man said as he looked beyond the now higher pile of rubble. At the same time, a part of the building collapsed. He went looking for his comrades. On the left side, the rucksack-carrying man, and a little further on top of the rubble the short man were lying. Dust and stone fell off both of the men as they stood up. Coughing sounds can be heard. The bald man helped his comrade up as he realized what he had just picked up. “Did we do it?” the rucksack-carrying man asked, “We don’t know yet” the bald man answered as he showed him what he was holding. Only a right boot, containing a torn leg. “…………” The boot looked familiar. “Gone. He’s gone.” The short man raised his rifle to his waist, and proceeded to the top of the rubble. Behind him, the bald man aimed ahead with the rifle’s scope. “Just that explosion. It didn’t leave any trace, huh……” the rucksack-carrying man said. A grenade is already inserted in his rifle. “We can’t be careless.” “Yeah.” They passed through the center of the explosion. Things that seemed to be internal organs are stuck on the side of the wall. The men advanced further. “I found it! That bastard’s blood!” The short man exclaimed. While carefully going around, the bald man approached. A small pool of blood was on the road by the rubble, and traces of blood started from there. The blood was scattered around and continued from the tip to the end of the street. “We did it. He bled considerably” the short man said, “Depends on the place……. However, we sure were heavily injured,” the bald man said, without changing expression. “Let’s follow.” the bloodstains extended towards the east. Eventually, the building disappeared as it crumbled on both sides. Right in front of them is a low iron fence completely tumbled on its side. An expanse of land spread beyond it, and right next was a large concrete building. It was a three-story building built with many glass windows. “He escaped into the schoolhouse,” the short man said. The three men concealed themselves behind two abandoned cars on the road in front of the fence. The bloodstains are lying beyond the fence, straight through the schoolyard. “An ambush?” the rucksack-carrying man suggested. “Grenade. Can it be done from this distance? How about the rest?” the bald man asked as he lowered his body, looking out front with the binoculars. The rucksack-carrying man answered. “It can be done. Barely, since our aim is low. There are five shots left.” “I’ll get him to come out. I’ll be the decoy. His leg has also been shot, so he can’t escape. Fire four grenades in a row towards that room. Got it?” The three men nodded, and returned the same word. “Understood” --- “I’m very sorry……. However……” Kino said. Both of her hands had been dyed deep red. As ever, the sky was covered with unbroken clouds. --- While the bald man was keeping his body low, he went across the schoolyard holding his rifle, one step at a time. There was nowhere to hide. On both sides of the car, the two men put their fingers in the trigger, and peeked through the combined optical sight. While breathing heavily, they stared at the schoolhouse’s glass windows as half of it cracked and fell. A gunshot echoed. It was from the schoolhouse. Four shots fired in succession were heard. And the roaring sounds of bullets. The bald man dropped down, and then shouted. “Second floor! Third classroom from the right!” The two men reacted, aiming towards that direction. They saw a barrel from the broken glass of a window, from which shrill gunshots come out. The bullets drifted far above the car. At the same time, two grenades were launched. They flew in a low trajectory, breaking through the glass and flying into the room. They exploded. All the glass windows of the classroom shattered. The glittering glass crashed and fell into the balcony. “Next!” “Alright!” The men fired two grenades. Exactly as they aimed, both shots flew into the window frame. The man lying down in the school yard peeked through the scope as he listened to the explosions. No moving figure can be seen from inside the wrecked classroom. No one fired a shot. All of a sudden it became quiet, and the sound of the wind can be clearly heard. “Did we do it?” the man murmured. --- Dried bloodstains climbed up the staircase on the right side of the schoolhouse, and headed towards the second floor hallway. The short man put out his head towards the long and dark corridor. The bloodstains extend to the third classroom. Even from the corridor, a door dangling from one hinge can be seen. The men walked the hallway while preparing to shoot at any moment. They came in front of the door; while one person was poising his Persuader, the other kicked the door open. They saw what’s inside. The grenade’s fragments pierced the ceiling, floor and inner walls. Several desks rolled over, their frames made of iron pipes bent. “There’s nothing here……” the short man said, slowly entering. In there, there was nobody. There was no corpse. The bald man entered while the rucksack-carrying man guarded the back. “Hey. It’s that guy’s rifle. Seems like it’s still usable,” the short man found the Persuader trapped underneath a desk, lightly pushing it with his foot. Some debris pierced the stock, but its scope and parts are safe under the desk. As the short man tried to pick it up, “Get it later. We have to see his corpse,” the bald man said. The short man lifted up his crouching body, and did not notice the thin wire wrapped around Flute’s trigger. “Hey.” The rucksack-carrying man found bloodstains underneath the desk. It went through another door, going out to the hallway. Sticky dots are rubbed on the floor. “What a tough guy,” the short man said with a grin. With him first, they went out to the hallway once again. There were footprints from the left foot, and on the right side, there is blood. Disappointed, they went inside the next two classrooms. Once the door opened, the tracks stopped. There were no traces from that room. The two men poised their rifles; the short man crouched to the side of the door, slowly turning the knob. Ton-. He pushed the door. It creaked while opening. While poising his rifle, the short man moved his gaze from the blood clots on the floor to the inside of the room. A red line crawled on the floor, extended to the center of the classroom, and ended underneath a desk. On top of the table, there was a familiar face. “…………” It was the face of the bearded man. His eyes are shut, as if he was sleeping. Behind it was the head, and underneath was the neck. “…………” And there was a desk wet with blood. There was nothing else in the classroom.

  “A……. Aa……” while this voice leaks from the short man’s wide open mouth, he stepped into the room. Shortly, the other two men also saw the traces. On top of the desk, they saw the freshly severed head.     The severed head was on top of the cloth where it was wrapped some time ago. The cloth was dyed deep red.    “It was not his blood……” the rucksack-carrying man spoke.    “Ah…… A, ah…… That bastard…… That bastard……” while moaning, the short man approached the desk.    “That bastard…… What a thing to do……. Damn it……. How awful……. That bastard…… To desecrate the body of a dead man……. That bastard……. That bastard……”    Gasha! The rifle fell from the man’s hands. The short man, while crying, stretched out both his hands towards his comrade’s head.    “How horrible…… This sort of thing……” Touching the cheeks with both hands,    “I’ll take him on…… I’ll take him on……. Ah……” He lifted his comrade (’s head).    “Stop!” the bald man cried out. At the same time, a string tied to a hair on the back of the severed head got pulled. On it, a waterproof match was attached, the tip of which is connected between two stones.  As well as a fuse.     A small green bottle hidden in the hair fell on top of the cloth. From the bottle’s mouth, the small sparks of the fuse scattered. The short man saw this.    “Eh?”    It exploded.    The schoolhouse shook with a thunderous roar, all that is glass in the classroom blew off.    The white smoke blew towards the balcony.      Beside the stairs on the north side, Kino walked to see if the smoke from the hallway has disappeared. It was blown towards the classroom.    With her right hand stained deep red with another person’s blood, she took out Cannon and entered the wrecked classroom from the blown off door.    Of the three men, one person lost his upper body. Those were splattered all over the wall. Another person was wriggling against the wall, bleeding from a glass fragment piercing his face. Trembling,       he held a grenade, and tried to pull out the safety pin from its tip. Beside the door, the bald man raised his face. His right hand drew out the hand persuader from the holster on his waist.    Kino stood in front of the man holding a grenade, and fired a bullet to his chest. The man let out a cry and a pop, and stopped moving. The bald man grasped the Persuader with his bloodstained right hand and turned towards Kino. He attempted to pull the trigger,    “It will not fire, you know” Kino said. The man’s right hand applied force (to the trigger).    “?”    And no bullets came out.    The persuader dropped from the man’s hand. The man looked at his right hand. His index and middle fingers had been torn off.    Kino stood beside the man.    “This young……, it was this boy……” the man said while looking quietly at Kino.    “Why me? If you don’t mind, can you tell me the reason?” Kino asked. The man took one deep breath,    “What’s wrong with protecting your own country……” he said.    “Your own country?” Kino asked in return.    The man reached out his right hand to his own breast and pulled out the chain of a pendant with his thumb. It was a small, round pendant with a star design.    He put it up in front of his face and looked at it.    “This place is our country……. That’s why we fight……”    “…………”    The man, not paying attention to anyone in particular, started to murmur. “Ah……. We couldn’t do anything. We couldn’t do anything, returning shamelessly.  We couldn’t become heroes. Everyone’s gone. At the very least, until the end, we will try to become heroes……, protecting this country……. Ah, even so, it’s no good. Until the very end, we couldn’t become heroes……”    Kino was listening.   The man spoke to Kino. “Come now, kill me quick. One shot……, take me to where everybody is”    “There’s no need for that. You will die soon.” Kino answered. She replied to the man whose left hand was blown off, reduced to a big, bloody mass of flesh.    “Whatever,” the bald man said with a gentle smile.    And he died smiling.    Kino gently closed the man’s eyes.    “‘―― Even if our heroes do not come back, they will always be alive in our hearts ――’,” Kino murmured. And then she closed her eyes.　   “Welcome back, Kino. You are stained with so much blood, are you hurt anywhere?”    “No. Probably”    “You killed them all?”    “Yup”    “Then, everything’s fine now?”    “Yeah, everything’s fine. No one will shoot us without warning anymore.”    “Kino. The pouch on your left”    “Mmm?”    “There’s a hole. Could it be that you were shot?”    “………….Ah, I didn’t notice at all……. When was it, I wonder? At the park, maybe?      “Then, what about my souvenir?”    “Just this”    “What’s this? It’s just a bullet”    “It’s a bullet from the rifle those men used. Exactly like Flute’s. I got a lot of these bullets”    “What was that about? Don’t you have any other souvenirs?”    “Ah. I have a story for you”    “Eh? What kind?”