Chapter 101

– If I had known that the enemy was in such a weakened state that they couldn’t even think straight, I should have entered from the beginning. –

“Well… I’m not sure about that.”

Based on the brief explanation from Rosaline.

As Zero was murmuring through remote communication while rushing to support Asyef, who was struggling alone on the battlefield, I found it hard to fully agree with their words.

Isn’t it irresponsible of me to directly throw someone who constantly sings about annihilation into a real hostage situation…?

Moreover, thanks to my direct involvement, it seemed like a significant green light had come in terms of my relationship with Rosaline.

“Anastasia, sister. Here! Is there any additional data you need?”

“Uh… No, I’m more than grateful…?”

I pulled my neck back, maintaining at least minimal personal space as her face suddenly entered my view.

Yet, even still, the sensation of her hair brushing against my shoulder like red silk and the sparkling gaze from her eyes sent ripples in my calmness.

… I definitely said that I couldn’t tell whether they were an enemy or a friend, but it seems I’m receiving a bit too much trust.

I scrutinized the screen displaying Rosaline’s output with one eye focused on Zero’s view.

The enemy’s deployment, general armed strength, the location of the defense force obtained through eavesdropping on crew communication, and expected arrival times—all neatly organized and easy for me to interpret, like a presentation submitted to me.

Analyzing the situation from various angles and clarifying the winning conditions is tantamount to the textbook of a skilled operator, so I really wish that they would take that expression asking for my thoughts off their face.

And I’m telling you, I really can’t gauge other people’s work!

– Confirmation of the remaining troops of the Taito Gang and a one-armed man. Shall we engage immediately? –

“No! Just help Asyef get out.”

I glanced at the remaining time and made a decision.

Although it was my fault, allowing a sneak attack from the guy lying in wait in the room while an overly eager robot flipped nearly every room upside down meant that the front of the train was already a safe zone.

In the end, the remaining enemies were only those that Asyef had cornered, unable to move back or forth.

“Should I just close all the corridor doors and drop the internal fire barrier, sister? Since the leader took care of the path clearing earlier, once we trap them, they won’t be able to get out easily.”

“Could you… calm down a bit?”

It seemed like there was still a terrible sense of resentment and anger left, so I rejected Rosaline’s terrifying suggestion to create a jar of loneliness.

There was no need for such an elaborate operation. Considering that the robbery plan had been thoroughly disrupted by this point, their fate was already set in two ways.

Either they would be captured by the soon-approaching border guards and enjoy a lovely session of investigation and torture, or…

★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★

Rewinding time, back to before Rosaline and Anastasia suffered from the presence of a sex offender.

Beeeep—!

Boom….

“……!”

A sound akin to air escaping from a balloon came from the severed neck and mouth, and a man, unable to utter even his last gasp, crumpled to the floor of the corridor.

Even if it was the final signal sent by a deceased comrade, a sound of something colliding would, unfortunately, be tough to catch the attention of the busy robbers dealing with guests who were stubbornly resisting their lives.

Moreover, the perpetrator slowly laid down the corpse they had propped up with their hands, and on top of that, the mis-timed alarm of the train.

And… that was precisely what Asyef aimed for.

“Turn back! You bastards can either drop your guns and come in to take things or what? Pick and choose, you idiots!”

“Damn it, those fucking whores?! There’s no exit on the other side, what the hell are you talking about…! You would’ve been better off lying low like a dead rat!”

“… Tsk.”

– Leader, wasn’t it just supposed to end with you shooting from afar as usual? This seems way too reckless…? –

“I can’t use a rifle with one arm. You might say the output would be similar if I overwork the implant, but the fundamental senses are all different.”

Asyef glanced at the two groups engaged in a tense standoff across the narrow passage.

Upon seeing the condition of the jackknife, which was ruined with blood and fat, he quietly set down the tool that had served its purpose and rifled through the collapsed robber’s belongings, finding an identical new knife.

Though it seemed like a petty thief’s underhanded maneuver, whether it was during his mercenary days or after joining the underground organization, the habit of procuring local items while fighting at a disadvantage was tough to shake off.

In fact… it wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t foolishly lost all the axes he was accustomed to.

Crack!!

“Gah…?!”

Another one fell, like a puppet with its strings cut.

A moan that was trying to escape was precisely silenced by a knife lodged in the cervical vertebrae twisting ever so slightly.

Gradually, from the back, he succeeded in carefully narrowing the distance, making sure not to create any unusual noise that could draw the enemies’ attention. He also knew he couldn’t keep having fun like this forever.

“… Even if they are dull-witted, they must notice soon. Is there a priority target among the enhanced humans?”

– There’s no way an old train like this has heat cameras or holographic scanners! If I had to think about it… If I didn’t want to get crumpled, I must target that guy first. –

Even without Rosaline emphasizing who that “guy” specifically was in the data she was transmitting, it was easy to determine.

Unlike a person whose modifications were hard to assess without checking for implanted parts, there was a thug who stood out from the rest as he was getting back on his feet.

“Grenades! Or any sort of bomb is fine, so bring out anything you’ve got! If I can get one good shot into the room, what an idiotic waste of time….”

“This is no longer necessary. Hey, Big Boy! If that arm has gone cold, stop moving! Use the door we tore off as a shield and just push in!!”

“… Huh!”

With a disturbing creak.

It wasn’t intended, but the muscle-bound behemoth that was slumped in the corner of the camera’s blind spot began to move.

His head and body weren’t emaciated.

Rather, compared to his shabby state, he was overflowing with physical beauty. But crucially, everything important was thrown off balance, with his massive arms connected from the shoulders wreaking havoc.

“… Foolishness breeds courage.”

“Huff… huff!”

With blood circulation poorly functioning, Big Boy’s forearms and neck glowed bright red, and he slowly turned his head.

Seeing that state, Asyef wondered if he should commend him for daring to apply a technology he didn’t understand or make him regret interpreting it poorly and bringing it to the battlefield. His head was spinning.

There was no way someone like him had undergone official Jotano treatment, so it was likely he had applied some drugs he gained by chance only to his arm… or killed the doctor during the procedure, one or the other.

Even if he was an inconceivably grotesque monstrosity, he didn’t have the luxury of waiting for it to tire out and die on its own.

It wouldn’t make any sense if passengers were dying at the hands of such a being.

“Could you create some distraction in the front…?!”

– Wh-what?! With what?! –

“Anything!!”

No matter how aggravating it was for Rosaline to say “Anything” in response, Asyef had confirmed the target and rushed forward like the wind.

At that moment, though he wished he could neutralize things easily with the handgun he had brought without checking his back, he couldn’t gauge the armored capabilities of that ambiguous modified human, so he opted for the more certain choice of physically diving in.

Swish….

Throwing aside his garbage-quality knife, he pulled out a finely crafted dagger shaped like a shamshir with a solid grip and sharp blade from his bag.

A lethal strike, ensuring they would be unable to resist.

Considering how he would need to extract himself afterward, it was indeed a moment that required a clean hit, but Asyef wasn’t worried.

She would meet his expectations, and he had faith that he wouldn’t disappoint her either.

– Ah… really! I don’t know either! Just don’t die without meaning! –

Suddenly, a sandstorm rushed into the train.

Having received prior warning, Asyef closed his eyes, while the standing passengers, who were outside its influence, jumped back in surprise from the doorway.

“Ugh?! What the hell is this!”

“Break the cameras! The corporate bastards are messing around!”

The swirling dirt and heat from the desert collided with the comparatively cooler indoor air as doors and windows were opened all at once.

Grains of sand, heedlessly tossed about by the air currents, irritated sensitive mucous membranes and caused confusion.

It wasn’t a lie that they had announced they were basing operations in this vicinity. Quickly regaining their composure, they began to readjust their previously loosened clothing.

“Uh.”

Asyef and the gang member, who had turned around while fidgeting to pull up his hood, locked eyes for an instant.

If he were soft enough to pause at the foolish moan, it might have been a different story. But that wasn’t the case.

Crack!!

‘Oh no!’

“Grrr?!”

A sound reminiscent of metal grazing stone resonated as the grasping hand found its target, tearing through it.

Although Big Boy’s scream echoed as if pain wasn’t even an option, the arms resembling kettle lids swung up to swat away the first fly that clung to him.

The behemoth swayed violently left and right.

Despite the sharpened blade not being able to dig deeper into the solid muscles that had bunched up tightly, conversely, it wouldn’t come out either.

It was a miscalculation. His skin was denser than expected, and the dagger swung with one arm lacked strength far beyond imagination.

While he had succeeded in plunging the blade into him when he first struck with weight, what would happen if he tried pulling it back out?

“^%&$!!”

Big Boy was rampaging in the middle, and Asyef was clinging to his shoulder.

Though he managed to scramble toward the edge and avoid getting embroiled in the chaos, the two were in each other’s crosshairs, unable to pull the trigger while glaring at the other robbers.

… It hadn’t been intentional, but he inwardly laughed at how an unexpectedly decent weapon had come into his possession.

“This is it!”

“Grrr?!”

As he applied force to the grip of the blade, Big Boy’s body shot up as if electrocuted by high-voltage electricity.

Avoiding the descending palm, his legs repeatedly took off with the back as their playground, while at the same time, he secured the dagger’s handle to use it as leverage, wrapping his limbs around Big Boy’s neck.

If Anastasia had seen this, she would have clapped her hands and asked where he learned such wrestling techniques.

“Damn it—!”

The scream was drowned out by a crushing sound.

With his toes gripping Big Boy’s head, Asyef swung his body with all his might.

Even if he had one arm less, when combined with the centrifugal force from an adult male’s weight, the dagger gradually began to carve into Big Boy’s neck. Therefore, the dull yet chilling sound of cutting flesh echoed neatly in his ear, which sent him into a frenzy.

There was no telling who would want to die being slowly beheaded like this, even if they were reduced to an inadequate state because of weak medication.

Boom!!

A wildly swung fist turned another into a bloody pulp as well as parts of the train.

Now crimson with no proper cooling period, his arm, which was used to break through doors and security gates, was drenched in black.

Blood that couldn’t circulate, a temperature that couldn’t drop.

The terror of all the cells dying was incomparable to the pain and loss caused by the dagger making its way around his neck.

“Right…!”

Asyef wasn’t in good condition either.

Riding a rampaging bull, he was experiencing extreme motion sickness that felt like he’d throw up a hundred times over while having to manage the enraged Big Boy, ensuring he didn’t crash into the walls.

Nevertheless… compared to the situation where the gang’s secret weapon had suddenly turned into a must-kill bastard, his condition was a walk in the park.

What could he do? This was the reason you had to choose your opponent wisely, yet it was the price of boldly jumping into the unknown while blinded by sweet rewards.

Crack…!

His body, dangling like a pendulum, shot up and regained its spot near his shoulder.

Leaning back, Asyef’s face was flushed with sweat from the brief exercise, but more importantly, it was filled with a sense of accomplishment.

“Get… lost!!”

“Grrr!! Stop…!!”

As if pulling out a stone lodged in the ground, his torn and raspy hands pulled hard to ensure he could separate himself from Big Boy.

Soon enough… an unremarkable head flew into the sky.