Preparation was made step by step. With supplies from the SRT main school, weapons were replenished, and Kaiser sent information that seemed to investigate Vina’s habits along with the recorded materials of the battle with her.
What’s a bit surprising is that according to our battle records, attacking her eyes didn’t make Vina retreat. Our records show that both times, successfully forcing her to retreat was achieved by attacking her eyes, which is quite confusing.
My personal guess is about the presence or absence of Shinpi.
Of course, it could be something else. An attack imbued with a student’s Shinpi exerts a power that is light-years apart from one that doesn’t. This leads me to suppose that the Kaiser Corporation made significant investments in military industry for this very reason.
The problem is that Vina’s armor is impervious to ordinary bullets, meaning that to strike her, high-caliber weapons are necessary. Even in combat, Vina mysteriously recovers from any previous damage and returns, leading Kaiser to conclude that capturing her is impossible.
However, what I realized is that perhaps the most meaningful way to land a hit on Vina could be an attack imbued with Shinpi. The simple conclusion is that, after blowing away her armor with firearms, we could accumulate damage using bullets imbued with Shinpi.
The next issue is Vina’s escape. Even after we’ve blown her armor away, if she vanishes before we can inflict serious damage, it would be pointless.
There isn’t a reasonable solution for this part, so the only countermeasure proposed was to unleash overwhelming firepower in the shortest amount of time possible.
Currently, there are three students in Abydos who are not inferior to anyone when it comes to Shinpi ranks.
If we can’t catch her with this, it’s hard to see a bright future for the teacher ahead, with the all-out wars that will start popping up one by one.
…Could it be that I’m going to become a regular member of the all-out wars?
“Thank you all for pitching in to help Abydos like this. I was skeptical at first, but wow—if I had known things would go this smoothly, I would have asked for help sooner.”
“Yep. I can really feel that it’s almost time.”
“Since we, the elite of the SRT special academy, have come together, it’s the only natural conclusion.”
“…Wait a second, it seems like Mika-san is doing the most work here?”
“Mika-senpai is also a member of our SRT. Saki’s statement cannot be considered incorrect.”
“Hey, you two. Why are you so eager to tie me to the SRT…?”
“Whenever I see you participate in ETO tasks, you’re always wearing the SRT uniform, Mika-senpai. I heard from Mohe that you used your code name again in yesterday’s operation.”
“…No, that’s really just because that outfit is comfortable to wear on-site. It has no special meaning. And the code name… ugh.”
I can’t think of a rebuttal. But still, they keep calling me FOX 5, FOX 5—it’s kind of hard to deny it.
“Alright, everyone, let’s focus ♧ Today is a historical day to break the chain of all the events that have led Abydos to its current situation!”
“Right, Nonomi’s words are correct. The glory of Abydos will bloom again at your fingertips today. So let’s go over the operation outline. The capture of Vina has been pushed down the priority list. As long as we resolve the current situation, simply repelling her will buy us some time, so I’ve judged that as long as we can withstand the intensifying Sandstorm along with Vina’s appearance, it’s not an urgent target.”
“Uh-heh~ But still, it would be great if we could complete the capture today, sensei. It’s not often that we gather such a crew.”
“Exactly. Earlier, it seemed like Hina was participating in some communication conference. Considering both Hina and Mika are busy people, it’s definitely better if we can resolve the situation quickly.”
“…It’s the Student Council regular meeting. I just happened to have some time, so I attended remotely.”
“Way to go, Hina-chan. I think that determination is really cool☆”
“Mika. I have a vague memory of someone reporting urgent tasks to the secretary today, but do you happen to remember who that was?”
“Uh, let me think…?”
“Uh-heh~ Let’s cut out the mutual flattery and give sensei a chance to explain the operation outline, okay?”
At Hoshino’s words, Hina closed her eyes and nodded her head. The faint flush on her earlobes was probably something only I noticed.
The teacher, who had been looking at us curiously, thanked Hoshino and began the explanation.
“Well then, getting back to the original topic, the primary objective is to push back the troops stationed at Saint Nephthys. Since this isn’t a typical large base, we plan to inflict significant damage using mortars and anti-tank missiles for a preemptive strike before entering to subdue the confused enemy. Leading the charge will be… Mika, Serika, and Hoshino. Saki, Miyako, and Shiroko will provide cover for those three, while Hina and Nonomi will move with Miyu from the rear and concentrate fire where needed.”
“Fire support then attack. Yep… it’s a classic plan. I like it.”
“Sensei expects a high possibility of Vina appearing during this process. The operation will then move to phase two, and we will immediately enter the ruins. While letting Vina and the Saint Nephthys troops outside engage with each other, we’ll quickly penetrate the internal forces of the ruins. I don’t know what the guardians of the ruins are about, but I believe you can handle them well.”
“Then after securing and destroying the OPARTS in the ruins, if Vina hasn’t escaped, we might consider capturing her right there.”
“As for that part, let’s decide on it after assessing everyone’s condition after the battle. Of course, if a clear opportunity arises, we won’t miss it. If anyone has questions, feel free to ask right away.”
“Then I’ll ask. Are you also planning to enter the ruins, sensei? In terms of physical strength, no problem, but wouldn’t getting hit by random shots be quite dangerous for you?”
“For now, I plan to move with you all. Sensei’s safety… well, it should somehow work out, right?”
“…Sometimes I can’t tell if sensei has a plan or not.”
The teacher smiled faintly at Hina’s words and waited for questions for a while, but when no one spoke up, she nodded and stood up to declare.
“We’ll be departing in one hour. The planned time for the operation will likely be late at night. Let’s make sure to pack our weapons, night-vision goggles, and any other items you think you’ll need.”
“Okay!”
The operation, which will be key in restoring Abydos, is about to begin.
*
Akeboshi Himari.
There are many words to describe her, but if I had to pick the most important keyword, it would be frail and genius.
…And a cute girl as well.
Since getting caught in Mika’s jokes, the frequency with which she refers to herself as a cute girl has significantly decreased, but the undeniable fact remains, just as the sun shines the brightest under the sky.
Himari, who had been spending her time holding onto the materials Mika sent, was pondering.
Despite her fondness for occult elements, since it was a “job” entrusted by Mika, unlike Rion, who viewed the patterns of this obelisk from a prophetic perspective, Himari approached by looking to crack its secrets from a strictly mathematical standpoint.
The answers didn’t come easily. Even for someone with the intelligence to understand things with just a quick glance, this was no trivial matter.
She delegated computing to AI, and attempts ran into the thousands and tens of thousands. Finally, Himari could grasp the key.
Each pattern possessed a unique number corresponding to it, all of which was mixed up, but she succeeded in arranging the 108 patterns on the obelisk in order.
A storm that engulfs the world. A massive globe floating in the sky. A uniquely shaped machine. A woman with the head of a wolf. An angel standing alone upon an overturned heaven and earth. A test tube containing something unknown.
Himari, having lined up countless patterns in order, fell into contemplation about what they meant.
‘Could this be a record of events that transpired in an ancient civilization far away? But this obelisk doesn’t seem to be as ancient as that. If such events actually occurred, they would surely have been preserved in some form of literature. Perhaps it’s telling stories akin to the scriptures of Trinity in a more primitive form…’
After a long time pondering these thoughts, Himari ultimately reached the conclusion that there was no content explainable by reason and logic present anywhere on this obelisk. No matter how brilliant a genius she was, it was impossible to solve a problem when key elements were left out.
She needed more, much more information.
Having reached such a conclusion, Himari hesitated before making a call to another person.
[…What a surprise. I didn’t expect you to contact me first, Himari.]
“How far have you interpreted the data you received from Mika-chan?”
[At least more than you, Himari. I’ll just leave it at that.]
After a long silence, Rion spoke again.
[One thing: If you promise to cooperate with my plans… I could share some information. Hmm.]
While she herself was unsure why she had said such a thing, Rion waited in silence for Himari’s reply.
“…”
The greatest genius of the Millennium made her choice.
