Bang—!!!
As the tanks that had taken positions on the beach started moving forward the moment the signal was given, the tanks on the Trinity side advanced at a speed faster than those of Gehenna. This was necessary to establish cover as close to the enemy as possible, even if that meant being destroyed by the enemy’s main gun.
As both sides advanced, the distance between them quickly shrank to less than 1km, and at this point, the tanks from Gehenna halted to prepare for fire.
“…Fire the main gun!”
Kaboom!!!
The cannons of the Tiger tanks fired simultaneously. Each shot was a threat to the relatively frail Crusader tanks. In fact, one Crusader tank was immediately destroyed by the first volley, coming to a complete stop.
Regardless, the Trinity tanks continued to advance to provide the students with even slightly closer distances. Even if they didn’t destroy a single enemy tank, that was manageable from behind by the students following.
As the Trinity formation closed in, Gehenna students began to appear from behind the relatively stationary Tiger tanks, fully prepared to launch anti-tank rockets.
“Keheh! Do you think I’ll fall for such an obvious trick? Be amazed by the power of Gehenna, led directly by yours truly, Makoto!”
The Crusader tank had successfully closed the distance to only about 300m from the Gehenna side. Only one tank had managed to survive up to that point. When the last tank halted and fired its main gun, unfortunately, it ricocheted off the armor of the Tiger, leading to the destruction of the last Crusader as well.
They hadn’t reached the target distance of 200 meters, increasing the difficulty of preventing the Tiger’s main gun from bombarding the Trinity side.
However, even in a slightly disrupted plan, Trinity didn’t show significant signs of panic. While students from Arius advanced, using the destroyed Crusader tank as cover, they prepared attacks targeting Gehenna’s students waiting behind.
“Misaki.”
“…Yeah.”
The rocket fired from Misaki’s launcher reached the Tiger on the right side of Gehenna, triggering a shower of submunitions.
The scattered incendiary rounds turned the area behind the Tiger tank into a sea of flames, disrupting the front line.
The Arius anti-tank rockets kept hammering the Tiger, with some aimed at the Tiger deployed at the central front.
“Indeed, Arius’s armament seems out of the ordinary. The current strength is practically like Mika’s private army.”
“Well, it’s not that the area overlaps with the Justice Realization Department directly under T-party, but I doubt Mika-senpai would operate troops for personal reasons.”
“That’s true. However, I can’t help but worry about Arius after Mika’s graduation.”
Hasumi, having turned her gaze from the left flank, sent a command via radio.
“Tsuruji. Push the right flank in. I’ll do my best to maintain the center.”
[…Got it, Hasumi. It won’t take long.]
After hearing Tsuruji’s reply, Hasumi immediately contacted Saori for support.
“Saori, please deliver additional strikes to the central front with Arius’s anti-tank rockets.”
[Understood. Before closing in on the enemy, I’ll fire another round of rockets and then send troops to the center.]
Receiving the transmission, Saori put on her mask and ordered the additional firing of anti-tank rockets.
“We’re about to infiltrate the enemy’s formation. Artillery, support the central front. Be prepared if anyone gets left behind.”
Having confirmed the series of explosions, Saori began to lead the charge towards Gehenna, her Aruis coat emblazoned with the Trinity mark billowing behind her. The only thing that indicated her past affiliation with the Arius branch and her ongoing membership in the Arius faction was the armband and insignia of the squad leader emblazoned on her belt.
*
“When exactly did the Justice Realization Department of Trinity acquire such firepower? The rate at which the front is collapsing is more than double what I expected! If this continues, the slander against the student council, now that the President isn’t here, will become completely outrageous…! Iori, I’ll support you, but we have to firmly hold back those problematic kids here! For Hina-senpai!”
“…Um, yeah. Right. I’m questioning whether those guys will follow orders properly, though.”
Listening to Aco’s words while sweating profusely with her firearm draped over her shoulder, sudden flames shot up towards the sky.
“Yay~! Did you call for us? Don’t worry too much! I’ll do my best to save Kasumi from the clutches of the student council president!”
Megumi from the Onsen Development Department dramatically lowered her goggles with a whop…
“Ow!”
“What, what’s going on?!”
Slamming her goggles into her own nose caused her to drop the flamethrower, which accidentally shot flames towards Iori, startling her.
“…You cause headaches most of the time, but now you’re giving me a headache in a different way. How is it that not a single reliable ally is around, whether it’s those problematic kids or the Manma Battle?!”
“Isn’t that the same for the student council without the president?”
“W-What did you just say?! Have you really just said that?”
“Ehe, but it’s true. Well, I guess it doesn’t matter either way! Let’s go, everyone! For Kasumi!”
Waaah!!!
“…”
Originally, Hina’s scheme to lock away Kinugawa Kasumi in the jail of the student council to draw in the Onsen Development Department was no less praiseworthy. However, Aco could only see the gloomy truth of how it made her the sole brain sufferer in this situation.
“Let’s just burn everything to the ground~!”
As the Onsen Development Department rushed forward to support the front lines head-on, Aco deemed them surprisingly reliable, pulling out her treasured pistol.
“Fufu. Don’t worry too much, student council members. Our Gourmet Research Club will definitely support you.”
“Just the three of you?”
“Claiming to be as strong as Mika, there’s Sorasaki as the leader. You shouldn’t underestimate us based on numbers…”
“Yes, yes! Just how are you so alike those problematic kids and Hina-senpai?”
As Aco grimaced at her exclamation, Haruna, who was naturally aiming her sniper rifle at the enemy lines, pulled the trigger.
She saw the bullet accurately hit an Arius student carrying an anti-tank rocket moving toward the central front, causing him to fall, and then she casually flipped her hair and smiled at Aco.
“Well, it’s obvious we can’t compare, but I’d say the desire to triumph is something we all share equally, if not more, right?”
“Whew… A card that can be used without limit at restaurants within Gehenna’s Autonomous District up to twice a month? How can I resist that? It’s an opportunity to taste the sweetness of victory to my heart’s content!”
“I don’t know much, but I’ve heard there’s nothing tastier than the food you eat after achieving something. So let’s finish this quickly and go eat!”
“…As you can see, our members are definitely filled with enthusiasm, right?”
“…Really. What more can I say? For Hina-senpai, I guess I can’t help but hold hands with you problematic kids.”
Turning away from the throbbing headache, Aco repeated a thought she had already voiced more than thirty-seven times in the last five minutes in her mind.
‘President, why did it have to be that person?’
As the Onsen Development Department’s students began to clash with Arius’s students, grenades flew from behind, wreaking havoc among Arius’s ranks.
“Things are definitely best eaten hot~”
“Hahaha! I totally get that feeling!”
With Megumi’s flamethrower adding to the fray, they maintained the line that had been pushed back to the rear of the Tiger tanks.
Ultimately, a single gunshot broke the standoff between the forces centered on the now-deactivated Tiger tank. A sniper shot from behind a Crusader tank struck Akari precisely.
“…Huh?”
“Grr, this is definitely useless!”
Aco’s scream echoed.
*
In contrast to the fixed front line formed around Gehenna’s Tiger tank and the central no-man’s-land, where no progress could be made until the Tiger tank was neutralized, a somewhat different situation was taking place at the last remaining front.
“Kiheeheeheehe—!! Kyaaaahhh!!”
Tsuruji, shrieking maniacally, swiftly popped the hatch of the Tiger tank with her two shotguns and peeked inside.
“…Found you.”
“Eeeek!!!”
Inside the Tiger tank, which had been modified for solitary operation, the trembling crew member, having confirmed who had entered, immediately screamed and fell unconscious.
“…”
Tsuruji had to confirm the disappearance of the crew member’s halo, which dissipated without a trace, verifying that she had fainted. It was a moment that left a large scar on the girl’s gentle heart.
Regardless, having successfully hijacked an intact enemy tank, Tsuruji had to make use of it. Turning the cannon towards the central front with relative ease, Tsuruji fired a round at the Gehenna’s Tiger and then climbed on top of the tank to look down at the students of Gehenna.
“Keheh.”
Due to the lingering wound in her heart, Tsuruji’s actions were bound to become more brutal. A girl’s heart is easily wounded, after all.
Piiiing—! Toodoodoodoodood!!!
Had no one appeared to obstruct this, the single asymmetric force that was Tsuruji would have caused the front line to collapse.
Only someone with an equal asymmetric power could block her, and Gehenna certainly had such a force.
“…Kuhy.”
“Indeed, is this the resilience of the head of the Justice Realization Department that I’ve only heard rumors about?”
Standing firmly against Gehenna’s strongest power, Sorasaki Hina. As she emptied her entire cartridge, she stood steady as Tsuruji fired relentlessly.
“Everyone in the student council, fall back and hold off Trinity’s forces. I’ll take care of this.”
After deftly reloading with her feet, Hina aimed her gun at Tsuruji once more.
So she’s taken it upon herself to face this. Then, we can only keep firing until it breaks through.
“Uhehhehheh…! That tickles!!!”
So began an outright clash between the two students, who could not be judged purely based on their ASCII strength in Kivotos.
While this fierce bloodbath unfolded, Mika, who was holding a strategic meeting with FOX Squad aboard the Odyssey Academy ship, could only look back on this later in tears.
