Instant Death-Volume 4, Chapter 18: It was like this the last time it happened

The battle continued between the gunslinger, Takekura Kiyoko, and Shinozaki Ayaka, a modified human who had gained the power of a dragon.

They moved within the castle walls and attacked each other. 𝐟𝐫𝗲𝙚ｗ𝚎𝐛𝙣𝐨𝙫𝘦𝗹.c૦m

Ayaka’s dragon claws crushed a wall.

However, Kiyoko was no longer there and was firing off bullets from behind her.

The bullets exploded on impact. The concentrated succession of attacks was doing damage to the invisible barrier that was Dragon Scale.

“Damn, that is annoying!”

She turned her attention towards Kiyoko and tried to unleash Dragon Breath.

However, Kiyoko disappeared before she could.

This Dragon Breath would have destroyed anything, but it wasn’t a perfect attack.

There was a bit of a time lag when activating it. And once you target something, you couldn’t adjust your aim.

In other words, no matter how strong the breath attack was, it was completely pointless if the target moved out of the way and came up behind you.

Besides, the breath took up a lot of energy, meaning you could not use it in rapid succession.

Ayaka hadn’t been able to use it, as she was never able to lock onto a target. Wasting this attack now could lead to her defeat.

‘I can’t use my trump card. I suppose I’ll just have to slowly chip away with my claws, fangs, and tail.’

And so she mainly fought with Dragon Claw, which used very little energy.

It could be activated in an instant and used in rapid succession, so Kiyoko would not have a moment to rest.

She knew her strategy.

But that didn’t stop Ayaka from feeling annoyed.

“Dragon Wing isn’t fast enough!?”

‘Wing is fast, but it’s hard to control. It’s mainly for long-distance travel.’

“Why the hell is she attacking the same spot with such precision!?”

While Kiyoko was moving in every direction including up and down, her bullets were all landing in the same place.

At first, there had been some wasted shots, but now all of them were hitting Ayaka.

‘That’s a smart gun. I’ve seen them before. They are made in the same place we are.’

“What!?”

‘The guns are crammed with all kinds of sensors and AI. So anyone can hit their target regardless of their aim. She probably knows our position because of those sensors and AI. The longer this battle takes, the more it’ll learn about the situation and your patterns. Then the precision will improve even more.’

Ayaka unleashed her claws as much as she could.

They had a range of about 10 meters. They were the strongest near the point of origin. But once they got longer, the power weakened. While she could reach things that were 10 meters away, she couldn’t expect the attack to be as effective.

It seemed like Kiyoka had a good grasp on Ayaka’s range, and so she kept a certain distance.

This meant that most of Ayaka’s attacks didn’t even hit, and even if they did, they didn’t have much effect. However, they did keep her in check. After all, it used up energy to have to constantly be dodging attacks.

From the large room to the small one. From the small room to the hallway. They moved outside for a moment before going back in.

Holes opened in walls and facilities were damaged. Ceilings crumbled and they ignored obstacles as they continued to move and attack each other.

And after both of them were getting accustomed to the rhythm of it; it came.

The rocket launcher.

The rocket was slow, but it was equipped with a homing device.

And it destroyed the Dragon Scale that Ayaka had created around her. A normal rocket usually wouldn’t have been too much for Ayaka to endure. And yet, Kiyoko’s attack had gone through her Dragon Scale and hurt her.

“You only had two pistols before! Where did you get that from!”

Kiyoko was carrying the launcher on her shoulder.

It had a long barrel and could only be used once. Kiyoko threw it aside and then disappeared.

And then, she pulled out an assault rifle from thin air.

‘It seems like she has the ability to freely summon firearms.’

‘You’re at a disadvantage when indoors. Why don’t you go outside and create some distance between you two? Then you can finish this fight with Dragon Breath.’

‘No. Being farther away doesn’t necessarily mean you will have an advantage. After all, how do you know she doesn’t have a high-power long-range weapon?’

Luckily, she had been able to take all of the damage that was delt up until now.

If that was all her opponent could do at this range, it was probably a good idea to maintain their current state.

‘Besides, something is interfering with Dragon Sense here. You won’t be able to tell the enemy’s location if you move away. Unless you mean to start the whole fight over again.’

Jamming.

Ayaka didn’t know much about it, but apparently, the sage called Shion was interfering with the simple scouting ability.

“Fine. In other words, directly ripping her apart with this method is my best bet!”

It was unthinkable to retreat now. And so Ayaka charged towards Kiyoko once again.

*****

The battle between Takekura Kiyoko and Shinozaki Ayaka was coming to an end.

It had been a vicious battle, but the scale was now tipping in Ayaka’s favor.

What became the deciding factors were the differences in endurance and recovery ability.

While Kiyoko had superior mobility and viable attacks, it had not been enough to take her opponent down.

Kiyoka had been able to dodge most of Ayaka’s attacks, but not all of them.

Even if they were just scratches, it was still damage after they piled up, and her energy was depleting as she had to be moving constantly.

It happened gradually. Kiyoko had no way to deal a decisive blow.

And so hopelessness slowly welled up within her.

There was no point in continuing like this.

She thought about running, but Ayaka was not likely to allow her.

After all, Ayaka would be very much aware of the advantage she now had. She was a glutton for revenge, and would not miss this opportunity.

Yes, it was obvious where this fight was headed.

And so Kiyoko wondered if there was any point in continuing.

If she stopped attacking and stopped running, the fight would be over very quickly.

In fact, that would happen soon enough regardless of what she did.

If it was just a matter of time, maybe she should just lose now.

At least she wouldn’t be wasting any effort. She wouldn’t have to suffer and fight until the last second.

While such thoughts were in her mind, her body kept moving.

Apparently, Kiyoko hated losing more than she had realized.

It didn’t matter if she died, as long as she could take a few shots of her own. Kiyoka was shocked by her own tenacity.

And so she continued to shoot.

She moved behind Ayaka and attacked her with a variety of firearms and slowly chipped away at her health.

She was able to dodge the oncoming shock waves and read her opponent’s movements so that she could move into positions that would be to her advantage.

But how long could this continue?

It all came to an end very quickly.

Fatigue caused her feet to stumble. A momentary delay in dodging.

Then Ayaka’s shock waves blew off the fingers of Kiyoko’s right hand.

This caused a delay in her attacks, and so Ayaka went into full throttle.

It was impossible to dodge.

Kiyoko decided. And so she crossed her arms together and took the hit. The blast sent her flying.

Her body spun as she crashed through walls until she was outside.

It wasn’t after she had slammed into several trees that Kiyoko fell face-first into the dirt.

However, she was still alive.

But the invisible blades that Ayaka had unleased had shredded up her body.

It was a lethal blow.

She could no longer move as she wanted.

Still, Kiyoko glared back at Ayaka through the holes in the walls.

“So, it’s finally coming to an end.”

But Ayaka didn’t seem to be in a rush.

She slowly raised her hand and showed her palm to Kiyoko.

This was the attack that she had tried to do so many times but had always had to stop. She was going to use it now and put an end to the fight.

It was probably the light ray skill that had brought on the disaster in the royal capital.

It burned the city in a single line and destroyed everything in its path. If Kiyoko was hit at this range, there wouldn’t be anything of her left after the attack.

—Surely there is something!? Some weapon I can use to fight back!

But she would have used such a weapon already if she had it.

Still, even now Kiyoko would not give up. And so she searched for a weapon that she could use.

The virtual weapon room appeared in her brain.

She moved through it towards the back. Up until now, this room had expanded based on the growth of her abilities.

In that case…

It was not impossible that she had grown this very instant, and a new door had opened for her.

Exceed the limit and move further.

Something stronger that could not be dodged. Even now, she moved forward in order to find a weapon that could defeat.

And then Kiyoko hit a door and so she prepared to apply the necessary force to open it.

That’s when a terrible pain assaulted her head.

It was a warning that she wasn’t ready. Turn back. You can’t do it. Those words were whispered to her.

However, she had to do something now. She had no choice. She would be killed.

“AAAAHHHH!!”

Even as her brain felt like it was burning up, she banged on the door. Shook it. Punched it.

And then it happened suddenly.

Bam.

A huge object appeared in front of her.

It was round and looked like several tons of metal.

Ayaka did not know what it was. She stared at it as if in shock.

However, Kiyoko knew.

It was the strongest bomb she had ever used in a fight.

Kiyoko activated the detonator.

*****

After reuniting with Tomochika, Yogiri decided to return to the castle wall.

Currently, the area boundary for the battle was the walls that surrounded the center of the demon world. In other words, if they went outside of the walls, it would be seen as an escape.

“Oh, why don’t we cancel this plan to lure out the sage? We can just leave the demon world entirely.”

“Even if we used the elevator, it would still be seen as leaving the boundary.”

“In any case, we practically lost the moment we came here you know!?”

Yogiri and Tomochika walked side by side. Hanakawa carried David and walked behind them.

As they weren’t that far from the walls to begin with, they reached the gate in no time.

“Takato! It’s Ninomiya and Carol!”

Someone jumped down from the wall.

Just as they had said, it was Ninomiya Ryouko and Carol S. Lain.

Ryouko was dressed in formal attire and had two swords like a samurai, while Carol was wearing a bright red ninja outfit.

As both of them were raising their hands, they clearly had no intention of fighting them.

“Oh, good. You’re alright.”

Tomochika said with relief. She had probably been worrying about them.

“We just prioritized running away. And we felt that we’d be safe if we could meet up with Takato.”

Carol said. As for Ryouko, she seemed nervous.

“What is this nonsense!? You act all cool as if you aren’t interested in women, and yet you’re out here making a harem!”

“I don’t think I ever said anything about being uninterested in women.”

Though, there was a matter of taste. That’s all. Yogiri thought.

“Ah, it’s the creepy Japanese nerd, Hanakawa. He’s still alive!”

“Don’t talk about me as if I represent the country!”

“So, what are you going to do?”

“We’re going to leave the boundary in order to lure out Shion. Then we’ll get some information.”

Yogiri answered Carol’s question bluntly.

“I see… Alright, I guess we have no choice but to follow.”

“Of course.”

Carol said. Ryouko agreed.

Well, it made sense, since they had no intention of fighting.

They would just have to hope that Yogiri would be able to deal with Shion.

“Hmm. But you guys aren’t participants, right?”

“That’s why we’re going to throw Hanakawa out and see what happens.”

“Hey, wait!? So your plan to use me as bait was that horrible!? I thought you were going to go with me! Oh, wait a minute. But now you have Carol and Ninomia too!”

Yogiri patted Hanakawa on the shoulder.

“Hanakawa. Show us that you’re a man.”

“I don’t care about showing my masculinity!”

In fact, as it was too much trouble, he wasn’t actually going to throw Hanakawa out. They would all leave the boundary together.

It was right when Yogiri was about to stop his teasing and explain this, that he noticed something.

Determination to kill.

Suddenly, everything in sight seemed to be covered in black. An area of death.

There was no place to run. Yogiri was looking at certain death.

“Anyway, everyone should stand behind me.”

As he sounded more serious than usual, they obeyed without a word.

And then the wall in front of them disappeared.

“Huh?”

Someone said in a shocked voice.

The stones that made up the walls were now flying apart at a frightening rate.

The trees of the forests burned and were blown away in a flash, along with the sand and dirt. In just a second, the land was empty.

An incredible ascending current now occurred, taking everything up into the sky. The clouds darkened in no time. While it was too close to them to see clearly, it was probably shaped like a mushroom.

However, in spite of all this, it was calm where Yogiri and the others stood.

The light, noise, heat, and wind should have been assaulting them. But none of it reached them.

“Uhhh…what is…”

Tomochika had been speechless, but she finally opened her mouth.

“I think it’s a nuclear weapon. It was like this the last time it happened.”

“You say it so casually, I don’t even know what to say…”

Tomochika was confused.

“Um, the second gate is opened…”

Ryouko said. She was shaking as she stared at her smartphone.

Yogiri recalled that there was a machine that was used to monitor him.

“We’ll need something to brave invisible threats, such as radiation.”

In order to protect themselves and their friends, they had decided to ignore all of the annoying processes and jump to phase 2.

Currently, he was continuing to kill any and every phenomenon that was a threat to their lives. If this situation was due to a nuclear weapon, its effects would not go away quickly. The gates would not close until they had escaped.

“Um, will it really be alright? Uh, maybe the laws of physics have been erased…”

Ryouko asked hesitantly. Anyone related to the research facility would know about the effects of phase 2.

“For now, I’m killing individual phenomenons that could be a danger to us, so it should be fine. However…now I don’t where the boundary is that will take us away from the walls.”

“That’s what you care about!?”

“More importantly, what do you mean when you say you’ve been attacked by a nuclear weapon before!?”

Tomochika and Hanakawa finally protested.