novelJuvenile Attack
| ← Ch.60 | Ch.62 → |
Meanwhile, as Ren and Subaru pursued the mysterious figure...
"Miss B! Corner her in the back yard!"
Whoever-it-was was trying to escape at full speed, so Subaru broke through the school building's wall to cut her off.
Her teacher's formal suit could not keep up and its fabric shredded away. But even with that gone, her shirt and panties could return to being a black dress - that is, Black Cat's armor suit - so it was not a problem.
And once she also put on the cat-printed helmet she liked so much...
"Zahh!!"
She caught up. She extended her steel claws and went in for the slice before her opponent could do anything.
The intruder dodged and fell back...just as Ren caught up from directly pursuing. They had successfully trapped whoever-it-was between them right before reaching the school's back gate.
Black Cat's eyes widened once she got a good look at the intruder.
She was less than 140cm tall, her hair was long enough to reach the ground, and that hair glittered in the setting sun.
"A fake!?" hatefully groaned Ren.
"A fake? Let's not be rude. I am me and I am undeniably real."
The intruder - a redheaded girl who looked identical to Ange - narrowed her eyes that shined a pale green.
"I am the real Kagari Enju. Though some do call me Ange."
Black Cat's claws aimed for the attacker's heart without a moment's hesitation.
Based on her previous movements, she was sure to dodge this. And even if she could not dodge it, they could question her after she was half-dead. Those bestial blades could slice through anything and they aimed straight for the redheaded girl who was smiling fearlessly.
"Uuh..."
And they pierced her small chest.
It was Schwarze who was shocked by this. The girl was entirely unfazed. She had not even tried to dodge.
And her fearless smile remained even with a hole in her heart.
Black Cat shuddered. She knew what this girl was. The only creature that could shrug off having their chest ripped apart was not a human or an angel.
"A demon...!"
"That's right?"
The girl who had called herself Ange actually walked toward the blade. She approached Black Cat by having the blade pierce her heart even deeper.
Glittering silver claws extended from the back of her hand.
They were identical to the ones piercing her chest, so Schwarze was forced to jump back to avoid the same tool she herself liked to use.
The color silver drew a large arc in the burning red light of the setting sun.
Black Cat collided with the school gate with the force of her swayback. The three claws had easily torn through her battle suit and left red lines along the white skin of her belly.
But what made Schwarze and Lavriel tremble was the fact that a demon - and an intelligent, higher-level demon - was using a FeTUS tool.
"The Bioroid Plan...was completed?"
The redheaded demon calmly approached.
"~~"
Schwarze's instincts told her they were outmatched.
She did not know why this girl had taken the form of an angel like Ange, but if she was the completed form of the Bio Springloaded research that had stalled twenty years before...
A Bioroid was a demon with a human will created by converting a human body so it was compatible with demons. If that was what this was, there was no way they could win.
After all...
"A failure like you is no longer needed, Elisabeth."
"Gwah!"
Schwarze stopped the gently swung claws with her own claws.
And that settled it. Just as Lucia had once done, the demon girl's body passed through the claws like water.
She then grabbed Schwarze's arm, twisted it, and pinned her down.
"Dammit! You-!"
Schwarze struggled, but she only succeeded in hurting her twisted shoulder.
———There really was no way to win.
She was an incomplete version created from the stalled research twenty years before, so this completed version's basic abilities would be on an entirely different level.
"Miss C! Kh, Kagari Enju...has been designated an enemy..."
"Don't move."
"————"
Lavriel's movements were sealed at the same moment.
In her case, physical strength was not necessary. She tensed up after simply hearing a voice.
She could no longer move.
"You were commanded by the Serpent's Eye not to fight, weren't you? You won't be able to move properly for a while after that."
"...You."
"I don't want you getting hurt, Lavriel."
Out of the blue, a girl with light purple hair had appeared behind her.
Simply seeing her face and hearing her voice was enough to keep Lavriel from moving. Nothing had actually been done to her, but she was effectively paralyzed.
"Riselle..."
"Long time no see, Lavriel."
The smiling girl looked left of Lavriel and seemed like she had entirely forgotten they were under attack.
Lavriel looked on the verge of tears and like she was trying to smile. A great many expressions flashed across her face.
It took nearly ten seconds for her to settle on a grim look.
"...So it was true that you've sided with Kurosaki."
"Sorry. But I'm happy where I am now."
Hearing that indifferent comment, Lavriel placed a hand on her sheathed sword.
But she did not draw it. Even if this was a traitor and an enemy, she could not bring herself to look at her hostilely.
This was who she had been searching for: the cousin she viewed like a sister named Riselle Baran.
"A sisterly reunion, hm? How moving? Hee hee. Come to think of it, we kind of count as sisters, too. Don't we, Elisabeth the Failure?"
"Shut up! Kh, don't use that name...!"
Schwarze continued to resist even as her shoulder joint was held so tight she thought it would break.
But unlike a demon, she could not escape her human form, so there was nothing she could do about this perfect joint lock.
"Heh heh. They're so weak. What is with this? Was FeTUS really this weak?"
The redheaded demon cackled happily after they so easily restrained both Miss C and Miss B of FeTUS's main fighting force.
Seeing that drove home that this really was not Jiyuuni Ange.
She was not that proud angel.
"A demon created by embedding the Fruit of Life in Kagari Enju's physical body....A single human's soul and body given to an angel and a demon respectively. That violates the Angel-Demon Détente."
"!?"
"Lilith clearly has no intention of following the rules."
A pillar of fire suddenly rose from behind the school gate.
Despite how impressive it looked, it tapered to a sharp pinpoint and extended toward the redhead who was restraining Black Cat.
The golden circle of a heat-reduction tool appeared from the girl's extended claws and formed a shield, but...
"Hot!"
The sharp point of fire bent around, avoided the circle, and pierced her thigh.
Enju's flesh was demonic, so it turned to ashes the instant it was touched. Her only choice was to flee before the burn reached the rest of her body. She threw aside Black Cat and jumped into the sky.
The pillar of fire from beyond the school gate attacked the girl like it had been waiting for that.
She continued to defend with a magic circle, but when this flame struck it, the flame scattered like syrup and enveloped the girl from every direction. Even if the Springloaded protected her from harm, she could not move.
At the same time, someone rushed out, chose a route that placed them in front of the setting sun and the fireball surrounding Enju, and rushed toward Riselle.
The figure was hard to see within the reflecting light and they grabbed the girl.
Instead of being strong or fast, this person fought by perfectly seeing through to their opponent's weaknesses.
While Schwarze and Lavriel watched in awe, Micha, the angel who had captured both attackers, slammed Riselle against the school's outer wall. She then raised a leg and aimed for that cute face.
"St-..."
Lavriel started to yell "stop", but she quickly shut her mouth.
That incredible kick had enough force to nearly tear the wall from the ground.
Riselle had dodged by bending her head just barely out of the way and her face paled when she saw the high heel stabbed into the wall a mere two centimeters to the side. Some of her purple hair had failed to escape and it floated to the ground.
A strange silence ruled the scene.
In a look she rarely allowed to the surface in front of Mutsuki or Ange, Micha's face looked like an expressionless Noh mask. Finally, she breathed a sigh.
"I've been searching all over Japan every night to find Enju's stolen body. I never thought it would just show up at the most obvious place."
She gave a cynically bitter smile.
The fireball enveloping Enju began to lose to the heat reduction tool. Realizing that girl was about to recover, Micha pulled her foot out from the wall. Riselle blinked her droopy eyes and Micha gently stroked her cheek.
"Tell Lilith that I'm willing to overlook the détente violation, but she will not get away with making a mockery of my Ange."
Then the holy fire surrounding Enju died out.
Miss C was also getting up after having been hit by a surprise attack earlier. They must have realized they were outmatched because the two attackers obediently kept their distance.
Black Cat threatened them, but she could not just leave Micha here when the angel was also an enemy. She could only watch as Riselle and then Enju turned around.
It came down to a draw.
"..."
Lavriel was the only one without any physical damage, but she looked paler than any of them.
What had happened? Mutsuki left Ange to sleep and exited the infirmary.
It was already dark out and the hallway was also quite dim. He relied on the green emergency exit lights to reach the entrance and then he went to check on the athletic ground.
The empty school was a little frightening, but his mind never turned to anything like ghosts due to the heavy machinery sounds that were presumably from Machina's Springloaded fixing the school building.
"..."
"Senpai."
Although he was shocked to find a girl standing stock still with a face as pale as a ghost's.
Ren was in the school building's entrance. No, he should probably call her Miss Lavriel at the moment. She was still wearing her knight outfit and her optical illusion device was off, allowing the skin and hair color of a white person to the surface.
She looked like FeTUS's knight, but her expression contained even more openings than during her private moments as the Student Council President.
"Senpai...what's the matter?"
"...Nn?"
She did not notice him until he was quite close.
Who was that figure she had pursued with Schwarze? Had they caught them? He had a number of thoughts, but he was not sure what to ask since she was clearly acting oddly.
He opened his mouth and tried to decide what to say, but...
"...How is Jiyuuni?"
She spoke first.
"Oh, yes. She's asleep. She was, um...tired."
"I see. Tell me when she wakes up. I must apologize. It seems I was mistaken about the reason for the duel."
Her detached manner of speech was not like her normal self. She simply spoke softly. He sensed none of the ambition and charisma that allowed her to control the academy's middle school.
What had happened? As he prepared to ask her, he peered at her face...
"————"
But her forehead bumped into his shoulder.
"Ah...S-Senpai?"
At first, he did not know what had happened.
Eventually, he realized she had wrapped her arms around his back and embraced him.
She hung her head and leaned up against him so he could not see her face. He was confused, but he naturally let her do it.
He had gone much, much further with Ange just a bit before, but he could not muster a manly response when his first love did this. He simply tensed up and stood there like he was made of wood.
"...Sorry."
He did finally manage to move his hands.
"Sorry. Please let me do this for just a bit."
"...Of course."
That was because he noticed the tremor in her voice.
He rubbed her chilled back to at least make sure she did not shed any tears. She must have been clenching her teeth because her shoulders were tensed and shaking.
Machina's construction noises grew more distant and silence fell over the school building.
Mutsuki gulped, worried she could hear his pounding heart.
How long did that moment last?
"You too..."
She suddenly opened her mouth.
"You too have a younger sister, don't you? Fujita...Chiaki. In the elementary school."
"Yes. Um, she's thankful for the help you've given her on the lacrosse team."
Fortunately, she seemed to have calmed down and her voice was no longer shaking.
She raised her head as well. The corners of her eyes were somewhat damp, but true to her reliable image, she seemed to have overcome it on her own. She still lacked the ambition, but the color had returned to her face.
"She is a hardworking and cute girl who clearly cares for her big brother. Take good care of her."
"Y-yes."
Now Mutsuki felt bashful. She was still leaning on him, so they were facing each other with less than twenty centimeters between their faces.
He tried to look away, but she would not let him.
"I...should have taken better care of mine. I shouldn't have let go of her hand."
"Wah..."
The hands on his back moved to his neck and she held him tight.
They were about the same height, so their cheeks touched. That was enough for Mutsuki to tense up, but Ren rubbed her cheek against his as if it were not enough.
"I won't let go again." Her voice was so low that even Mutsuki could barely hear it."I will never let go of you. No matter what happens, I will protect you."
"Um, Senpai?"
"...I swear it."
He managed to move back, but she did not remove her arms from around his neck and they were still directly facing each other.
Ren said nothing and stared at him as if trying to memorize the shape of his peach fuzz. Embarrassment and fear mixed together and he found himself unable to look away either.
His heartbeat sounded even louder than before as silence closed in on the two of them...
"What the hell are you doing!?"
That silence was broken by an angry voice and the roar of flames burning brightly in the dark hallway.
Ange had apparently woken up and changed into her gym clothes because she stood there with flame wings raging from her back as a threat.
Machina stood behind her, so she had likely brought Ange the clothes.
"A-Ange, this is...um."
Machina also gave him a cold look, but Mutsuki was more concerned with Ange's raised eyebrows and he shook his head to tell her it was a misunderstanding.
They had been making love just a few minutes before, so the easily-angered angel's expression tensed when she saw the boy and another girl enjoying skin contact that seemed closer than any kind of sex.
And that other girl was one of the FeTUS witches she so disliked.
"Hm." Ren had actually returned to her usual calm demeanor."Jiyuuni Ange, perfect timing. About what happened earlier..."
"Shut up! Let's get back to that duel!"
"Wah!?"
But before she could say anything, Ange pulled out Prominence and rushed at her.
Ren shoved Mutsuki aside and dodged, but the angel pursued her.
"Stop, Jiyuuni Ange! Listen to me! I no longer wish to-"
"Shut up, shut up, shut up! You might not want to, but I do!"
Ren could not fight back when the original misunderstanding had been her fault and Ange swung her sword all over the place as she pressed in toward her. Ren somehow managed to dodge, but the angel's personality made her a powerful attacker, her slashes were sharp, and she would not listen.
"I-Ibekusa-san. Please stop Ange. It doesn't seem like Senpai wants to fight any more."
Everything had settled down, but now two people he cared for were going to hurt each other. Mutsuki asked the third girl to help.
But while she was usually cooperative...
"If Miss B does not intend to fight, then I have no reason to stop them. This will be over before long."
For some reason, Machina gave a very Ange-like lopsided frown and looked the other way.
"Is she angry to...?" wondered Mutsuki in confusion.
And then...
"Argh! Give it a rest, Jiyuuni Ange!"
Realizing this was not going to end otherwise, Ren reached for her beloved sword.
She drew it and only tried to knock Prominence from the attacking enemy's grasp, but...
"Loop!"
"Mh...wah!"
Her restrained block worked against her. The divine sword split in two and one of the halves swept right toward her torso.
The direct hit sent Ren flying. She crashed through the nearby shoe lockers.
"Senpai! Wait, Ange! Enough of this!"
Mutsuki frantically moved between them.
"You're in the way! Move!"
"I said stop this!"
He shouted angrily back and ran over to Ren. She and two shoe lockers were embedded in the wall with a cloud of dust around them.
"...That one hurt. I would've been sliced in two without my suit."
She had fortunately managed to disperse the shock of the slash, so she was not harmed. The girl got back up.
But it had caused a lot of damage to her armor. The front of her white armor suit split open.
"I am willing to apologize...but if you insist on doing this, then I'm game."
"Bring it on!"
Ange remained belligerent, so Ren raised her short sword.
...And that movement caused her bra's front hook to come undone after being sliced along with her suit.
"Ah..."
"Ah..."
Two soft objects could be heard hitting the floor.
Ange and Mutsuki both froze in place.
Mutsuki had been averting his gaze after seeing her white belly through the sliced suit, so he seriously panicked when he saw what had fallen away. He thought some of his upperclassman's flesh had been cut away.
But in the end, it turned out the two soft objects in her bra cups had not been her flesh.
"Senp-...ah."
"Eh? ...................................... !?!?!?!?"
Ren finally realized her clothing had been cut and she held her chest with her hands.
With the bra - and what had been positioned between the bra and her skin - gone, her chest had almost no thickness at all and was easily hidden by her hands.
...Her chest had lost their size-adjustment pads.
Mutsuki and Ange were dumbfounded....Machina did not react, so she may have already known.
Shirohara Ren was the beautiful and dignified Student Council President with a nice body.
But it seemed she had used a bit of help for the "nice body" part.
"Jiyuuni...Ange."