Episode 63 — Because We’re Friends
～ Part 1 ～
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In the underground cavern, the footing was getting more rugged. They had come to this area where human hands hadn’t touched at all. She didn’t mean to walk stealthily in particular, but the way Nekomiya walked made no sound. The paw pads perfectly exhibited its silencing function.
On the other hand, Kagoi, being a gargoyle, his footsteps were making big echo in the cavern. It was the same for Saruwatari the Hanuman as he was wearing shoes. They had been silently walking without saying anything in particular, then suddenly, Kagoi raised his voice.
“…Say, Nekomiya, how far do you want to go?”
“Till the ocean … or so I want say, but if my nose and ears are believable even for a bit, it should not be so far away.”
Although she said that, she was also keeping in mind the choice to turn back in case the walking distance was too far.
They had succeeded in defeating Tokihara, but if one was to ask if the situation was good, then that wasn’t the case. Nekomiya didn’t know what kind of development was going to happen with the attack to heavy cruiser branch school by the 5 Pawns. The same applied to Ryuzaki’s conference. Setting aside the former anyway, for the later, they had to find evidence that Tokihara was a vampire in his hideout.
Presently, the most effective things were, as expected, children bones that were piling up high like a mountain. It was unclear why he didn’t dispose of those and left them behind, but it was a fact that Tokihara was hiding those in the basement, therefore, they could only try to convince the islanders using that.
After they walked forward for a little while.
“Nekomiya, it’s a passionate light.”
The somewhere mistaken hot-blooded youth hanuman, Saruwatari Futa used a mysterious adjective to express the light flowing in from up ahead.
“Apparently, we’ve finally come to a place that is connected to outside.”
“The sound of waves is getting much more clearer as well.”
The pace they were advancing through the meandering passage with got a little faster. It was twisted, but the part that there was no byway could be said to be a little fortunate.
Light flowing in, sound of waves, and scent of sea water.
The three soon came to a slightly wide space. As Nekomiya had expected, there was an entrance of this cavern there. Most of the open space was filled with sea water, by proceeding further on top of the sea, it was possible to leave outside. Perhaps, this place was a tunnel opened on a steep cliff. Nekomiya remembered that the south side of Delf Island was a slightly high cliff.
Barnacles and seaweeds were sticking to the wall of the cavern, indicating that the water volume would increase a bit at high tide. The short passage to leave from the open space to outside itself would be filled with water at high tide and closed up.
Well, that alone was still okay.
A strange object jumping in the eyes of those 3 was placed in the land area of the cavern, that was a ship.
“This is a cruiser?”
“Seem so.”
Very different from the traditional fishing canoes of Albadanba, that was an engine-powered large yacht. Rubber coating was spread on the cavern floor to avoid damaging the ship’s bottom when landing.
“I don’t understand very well, but the maintenance seems to be done properly.”
“Which means it’s not always left alone here.”
“Besides, the extent of the coating is wide. Perhaps, there are several more cruisers.”
It was as Nekomiya pointed out. Saruwatari and Kagoi pondered.
“Then, the remaining cruisers…”
“It’s only my guess, but this Albadanba itself is a relay point in the traveling route of the ‘blood clan’. They use cruisers to cross the sea … aah, look at this. There’s even gasoline as well. No, is this diesel?” [Nekomiya]
Nearby, unopened 18 liters drums were stacking up.
“Can a cruiser travel that far away?”
“Who knows? Won’t we know if we ask Harao or Hakoiri? If it’s those rich guys, they should have a ship or two.”
“However, what’s this…?”
Saruwatari crossed his arms and alternately looked at the mountain of drums and the cruiser.
“It’s unfair that they can go between the former world and this world.”
“That’s true.”
Nekomiya as well, was first amazed, before feeling bitter.
They had confiscated a lots of ‘tools of the former world’ from the old castle that the Knight and the Bishop had been using as a base. The game console, television and the power generator were the main items, but the large amount of cookwares had really pleased Sugiura, they even found weekly magazines that were released just recently ——— that is to say, after they were transferred to this world over here, it really surprised everyone.
The blood clan could frequently and readily move between worlds. Even if that itself was good news, Nekomiya and the others couldn’t ‘simply return to the former world’ anyway. They had to return to their original form before going back to the former world, so to speak, that was also ‘unfair’.
“Well, I want to get this diesel. There may be some uses for it.”
“What we’re doing is perfectly robbery, isn’t it?”
It when they were having that kind of tepid conversation. Saruwatari suddenly raised his face.
“The wind is calling…”
“What … Hiee–!?”
Embracing Nekomiya, Saruwatari hopped. Immediately after that, a black bullet-like something exploded on the cavern floor.
“Uhyaa’, what is this!?”
“It’s Enemy!”
“I already know that! Saruwatari! FYI, that’s my butt!”
“It just becomes this way when people hold cats!”
“I’m a cat but also a girl, okay?!”
“You two, please be serious…!”
The sullen type gargoyle, Kagoi muffled his voice while glancing at the state of those two.
Their exchange was quite lacking in tension but it was a true that enemy was attacking. The three people turned their gaze at the same direction. From outside the cavern, one shadow vigorously jumped in, looking at that, Kagoi first came forward. Using the gargoyle body which was excellent in its defense ability, he directly caught the bullet like something.
However,
“Guu–…”
The impact was enough to make even that Kagoi to unintentionally spilled anguished voice. On top of that, the attacker raised his fist overhead and knocked down Kagoi from the front.
“Blood clan…! A Pawn!?”
Nekomiya raised her voice. A red eyed man cladded in a black armor. It was unmistakably a vampire.
She had thought all 5 Pawns was heading toward the heavy cruiser, so she didn’t take in account that they would encounter one of those here. This is bad, she thought, but she instantly confirmed that a big hole was opened in his chest. That vampire was wounded.
He was a little obese middle-aged man. It was an individual with quite a lackluster appearance, but he had a familiar face. However, instead of chasing after the thread of memory, Nekomiya first thought about how to handle this situation. Saruwatari took out a long metal pole and readied it like a bat.
“Move!!”
The blood clan man shouted.
“If you move aside here, I’ll overlook you! Now, move!!”
“……”
Nekomiya was thinking. Suppose the opponent was unhurt, or he said that without raising his voice at all, then Nekomiya might have obediently retreated. Because it was out of the question to fight against a Pawn head-on and helplessly got themselves killed or kidnapped.
But this situation was different.
The Pawn in front of her was wounded. And he was clearly impatient about something.
Thinking about how he had expressly entered this cavern from the seaside entrance, this Pawn’s aim was unmistakably the cruiser. And with him being this impatient, the Pawn shouldn’t have that much leisurely time to remove Nekomiya group with brute force.
However wounded he was, he could still easily knock down Kagoi like just now, if looking at that ability, then combat ability-wise, the advantage tilted toward the opponent. Even so, the Pawn was reluctant to spend time and effort on fighting. He wanted to quickly use the cruiser to get away. Because he would suffer a fatal disadvantage unless he escaped.
In that case, what we should do is,
“Saruwatari!”
“I’ve been bored to tears!”
∗Buon∗, swinging his pole, Saruwatari sprung at the Pawn.
“Shit…!”
The Pawn swung his fist to bash Saruwatari, but Kagoi cut in between.
The fist cladded in black armor hit Kagoi’s skin — which was made of mineral, but far from piercing, it couldn’t even made a crack. In that gap, the pole Saruwatari swung down smashed into the Pawn’s face.
“«Shadow Square»!!”
Nekomiya clipped off her own shadow, made it to blade-shape and shoot it.
“Roaring youth magic ball!”
During the long airborne time, Saruwatari gathered wind and made a ball.
“Brass Blaster!!”
But the Pawn thrust Kagoi await with sheer strength and erased both the shadow blade and the wind bullet with his right arm gauntlet.
The power of that armor was terrifying. Nekomiya ground her teeth. Presently, there wasn’t a single information about magic attack that could penetrate that. Its physical defense was also considerable, but there was a report stating that Pressurized Stream Cross had succeeded in punching through its defense.
Still, even magic attacks could probably gain some time. It was at that time when Nekomiya was about to start chanting for the 2nd attack.
“Found you!!”
Raising splashes of water, a different shadow jumped out from the sea.
To be continued…
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