Murakami sensed danger as he ran.
The battle - or the situation - was splitting into two different locations.
The myserteous man was up ahead and the dangerous woman was behind them.
"The Far Eastern proverb is 'a tiger at the front gate, a wolf at the rear grate', but it seems we have swapped them out for an enigma and a Valkyrie."
Manager: "Our wolf is more associated with the Yellow Gate."
Demon Child: "We could release some doujinshis that associate him with the 'rear gate', if you know what I mean."
Murakami wanted to put a stop to that conversation, but the situation was too dangerous for that. Because at this rate...
"Sensei is getting away!"
Iko: "This kinda sucks. How 'bout we earn what points we can just by reachin' the finish line?"
Inu: "That would mean a failing grade for Akashi and anyone else knocked out of the fight!"
In that case, thought Murakami before he heard Jinsei's voice from behind.
"Kō, move out ahead," he said. "It looks like Samurai Girl is dealing with Mystery Dude and I'm sure someone will deal with everything behind us. That leaves only you to go after Akasora-sensei right now."
"B-but what about you and Kon?"
"Suzaku-kun is with the middle group, so he can keep us safe." Kon nodded to him while grabbing Jinsei by the collar. "Don't worry about us and go ahead."
"Why do your assurances only make me more worried?"
He decided to check just in case.
Black Wolf: "Are things going okay back there? Mei can't use her curry right now, so I might be able the only one who can deal with Kushikage-san, seeing as how I have all of Shikifuku at my disposal."
TetsuG: "That duel showed just how crucial curry is to Border's defense."
SenSen: "Didn't she fight her for real, though? Either way, someone other than me will have to deal with it. But I guess that goes without saying."
They were telling him to go. So...
"Jinsei, Kon. Try to get along, okay?"
Kon nodded while still holding him by the collar.
"Not to worry, Kō-kun."
That worried him plenty, but is also seemed wrong to treat this situation as normal. However...
"Okay, Jinsei."
"Right. Do everything you can."
He had made his order, so he nodded.
"I'm off."
The wolf created a forward burst of speed with Shikifuku's blade in his right hand.
Suzaku watched as Murakami moved out ahead.
...Hitting Akasora-sensei with an attack is not going to be easy.
But they were sharing this battlefield. Their individual results might seem small, but they were sure to accomplish something great together.
That applied to them all. For example, the black wolf was not the only one who had gone out ahead.
"Kanzaki!"
Kanzaki had not lost sight of her target.
Akasora was out ahead of her. He was about to arrive at the tall building that acted as a windbreak toward Mikado City's other half.
Once he crossed that building, he would be in the Forbidden Zone. Then he would run across that area to the Yagura Branch.
Kanzaki still had to travel along the roofs, so that would let Akasora pulled out ahead.
...Not good!
But she had to get past someone else to continue after the teacher. And not someone she had expected.
"I would like to know who you are! I am Kanzaki Shizuka!"
Simple Boy: "I had not been invited to join, but I do know who that man is. Don't worry, he is not a bad person. His name is Trochískos-san, though. Have fun fighting him."
The message was surprisingly helpful from someone like him.
"You can just call me Caster."
"I am honored to meet and fight you, seeing a show Akasora-sensei has asked for your assistance!"
"You should really be on your guard even as you flatter me."
An attack arrived even as Caster spoke. He swung the large black book in his right hand.
...Here it comes!
It was a void.
An area of nothingness covered a diameter of several meters ahead of the book's swinging path.
Multiple such areas appeared. Kanzaki did not understand at first and assumed they were wind projectiles.
"Hold on," said Kimura from her shoulder. "Those are tearing into the roof."
She was right. The roofs and eaves of the longhouses were torn away, allowing her to see inside.
Kiyome: "That is not good. Damage to the agents longhouses is not too bad, but damage to ordinary homes would mean plenty of complaints directed at Border."
Umi: "Wouldn't the people there complain to?"
Pokari: "Or are they too afraid to complain? Y'know, cause of Kimura's reign of terror."
Manager: "My what!?"
"Ha ha ha. I think they are saying you are doing a good job."
"Are you sure?" she asked gloomily, but Kanzaki knew it was best to keep a positive outlook in life. And anyway...
"Do not get distracted," said the man.
Another void appeared. And...
"How about this?"
He was approaching. No, Kanzaki was running forward, so Caster had simply slowed down.
...But that still means he is approaching!
Kanzaki had to push him back because the others were behind her.
They were at risk if Caster was trying to target them. Not many of that group could fight at close range. Hard-Punch Boy could not hit someone this much stronger than him and the Ninomiya Squad Gunner had recently started to lose his mind a bit.
That meant Kanzaki had to hold him back.
"What did I say about getting distracted?"
The man rushed in with a sighing relaxation.
He moved to Kanzaki's right with what looked like a slight step.
"—"
Except he moved in a split-second. The high-speed movement easily shifted him to the next wide block over.
"Here goes."
Caster was on his way to the others.
He had slipped past Kanzaki. But Kanzaki noticed something about this new arrangement.
"An opening!"
Her opponent had his back turned behind her.
"Senkū Kōgetsu - Spear!"
.
The roof broke and the Black Trigger user jumped.
...Not bad!
After slipping past her so easily, Trochískos had honestly thought this opponent would continue on ahead and let the rest of his teammates deal with him.
But as soon as his back was turned, the girl attacked.
Trochískos did not consider that unfair. This battle had no defined rules. It is supposed to be a final exam or something like that, I think.
But that girl's power was real. Trochískos had needed to jump back to let the horizontal line of power pass below his feet. And then...
"That is more like it."
A wind blew in from behind, accurately targeting his blind spot.
One of Border's acceleration Triggers was continuous, making 180 degree turns difficult. And this opponent had to be aiming for the moment he landed. So...
"How about this?"
Trochískos's hair swung through the air as he danced. He used the swaying of his body for something.
"—"
He used his Black Trigger to make copies. And he made nine copies all at once.
.
Trochískos prepared for battle in midair.
He swung his book behind him to send a void toward the approaching Border Solo A-Rank.
He had nine physical-illusionary copies.
The enemy had just the one blade. He might lose one copy to that, but he would still have eight attacks left. That was too much to dodge and he doubted that the spear had anything resembling rapid-fire. So...
"How will you escape this one?"
The answer was already evident as the enemy leaned forward to accelerate and thrust out the tip of her spear.
"Extension, go!"
.
From Kanzaki's shoulder, Kimura had the perfect view of the enemy's incoming attack.
...Ahh!
As Caster fell through the air and prepared to land, he multiplied to nine, forming a wall of bodies.
But Kanzaki lightly twisted her body and thrusted out her spear in response.
"Extension, go!"
She held Kōgetsu Spear near the butt end as it extended to its maximum length.
"..!"
The blade pierced her opponent, but not just one of her. It skewered three of them.
Then the void was released.
But Caster's barrage was short three and Kanzaki used that as an opening.
"Ohhh!"
Kanzaki stuck her foot out toward the gap created by the three she had diagonally skewered.
Several sign frames appeared at her knee and then her knee twisted around.
...Ohh?
This seemed slow to Kimura. The movement seemed to play out in slow motion even with so many acceleration Triggers activated.
That was an illusion.
While Kanzaki twirled, something like wind blew through on either side of her.
That was the void.
...The best thing to compare this to would be Teleport.
After having seen the Trigger used so many times before, it was the thing her mind went to when she saw these voids.
A gap created in space after something was displaced or disappeared altogether.
And now it felt like time had slowed just for them, but Kimura soon realized what this was.
"The ideal movement!"
"Not quite," said Kanzaki as she stopped facing forward.
The six remaining enemies had already landed, but...
"That is fine by me!"
Kanzkai ran forward.
.
Trochískos mentally gulped.
...I did not expect to be skewered like dango!
The girl had instantly calculated out where those three's positions would align. Trochískos had not meant to leave an opening, but each of the copies were individuals. They each had their own positions to think about and they had been busy attacking, so they had left openings to the front and back or on the sides.
Their actions must have been too uniform. So...
"How will you handle this one!?"
After landing, Trochískos took a step back and sent out sextuple voids.
A moment later, he saw the girl on the Solo A-Rank Agent throw her arms in the air as if cheering.
"Kimura!"
Without warning, she chucked the girl on her shoulder toward Trochískos.
.
...That is a new one!
Trochískos was oddly impressed by this.
Weapons came in many forms: swords, spears, bows, guns, and on and on. But...
...Time to add "a person" to that list!
He had seen people use a corpse as a shield to escape on the battlefield, but never before in his long life had he seen someone throw a living VIP at their opponent.
"That seems like a bad idea!"
.
...A bad idea, huh?
Caster's comment sent Kimura's thoughts in a philosophical direction.
In one sense, I agreed it's a bad idea. In another, this feels like par for the course in our organization. Then again, that doesn't mean it isn't a bad idea, but if this counts as participating in the battle, maybe I can get a higher score than just for reaching the finishing line.
Anyway, Kanzaki must have a plan. She'd better. Please tell me she does. Oh, who am I kidding? She probably expects me to save myself here. I guess this is it for me.
"Oh?"
She spoke up for a reason. Kanzaki was running up after her.
And she swung her right hand.
"There!"
She threw Kōgetsu Spear toward Kimura.
.
...You fool!
Trochískos failed to instantly grasp Kōgetsu Spear's path.
He had first worked out whether the thrown spear would hit Border's Shoulder Girl.
It would not. But the enemy had made another move while he was checking that.
"Can she move more nimbly without the spear and VIP!?"
Border's Solo A-Rank Agent ran full speed toward one of Trochískos's copies and performed a certain action.
She jumped over or circled around the launched void before it could expand, and...
"Ohhh!"
She tackled the copy.
She slammed her shoulder into the copy with her shoulder blade and back behind the blow. She had essentially moved to the side of the copy after it had swung its arm to launch the void and then she had forcibly knocked it from the ground.
With a loud sound of impact more than a crash, the copy vanished.
...She just powered through that!
This girl had too freestyle a fighting style. But at the same time...
"How delightful!"
Trochískos provided his assessment while thinking back to the other time he had come to Miden.
Girikage Daigo was a good boy. He was earnest and honest and he had attacked with everything he had. He had also admitted to it when he lost.
That boy had likely clashed with this girl at some point in time.
Daigo had likely lost in the end.
Would that mean, thought Trochískos, that Daigo's earnestness and honesty failed to reach this Solo Agent?
...No.
The Solo A-Rank Agent must have been much like Daigo once.
She would have been trained.
Trochískos could guess she had been taught her fighting style by someone on par with the teacher who had asked for his help here. That meant someone who could outmatch an army of trion soldiers built to withstand cold and stiff places without a Black Trigger.
But they had only taught her methods.
Methods were easy. You taught people what they could do and the theories behind that and, even if they could not copy the movements exactly, they would learn to replicate them in their own way.
But you could not copy your memories, experience, and decision-making to a pupil. So you had to teach them the movements in some foundational patterns that would let them select the best option on a case-by-case basis.
The records said this Solo A-Rank Agent had dueled Misó during the invasion of Aftokrator.
She had drawn on all the movement options she had learned through training and used them to their fullest to emerge victorious over him. Misó, on the other hand, had been born a citizen of Aftokrator and he had been trained to use much more dangerous Triggers that excelled at multi-range combat, so the foundation of his combat was in breaking down those formal "kata".
During that battle, the Solo A-Rank Agent must have been much like Daigo.
She would have fought by following the kata she had learned from some mentor. In fact, the records confirmed it.
But she had changed at some point.
She had grown so ill-mannered in her fighting. She still started from a foundation of decision-making and movements built up through training, but now she broke the rules she had mastered to move ever onward.
She must have made different breakthroughs in the multiple fights she had been involved with.
Had she made even more progress at the final battles she fought in during these recent days?
If so...
"How wonderful."
Because...
"You are one possible result for all those growing children."
The boy who had lost to this one – no, all of the children who had lost to her – would be working to catch up to her. So...
"I will play along."
Shobu sensed two of the Trochískos' disappear.
Was a tackle a specific technique, or a genre of them? Either way, Kanzaki blew away the two Trochískos' in her path after throwing Kimura as a distraction.
Trochískos was down to four copies.
And according to Inukai...
"With physical copies, all of them are real! This is dangerous!"
But Kanzaki seemed to define the one closest to their middle group as her primary enemy. That was the one she had thrown Kimura and then Kōgetsu Spear at.
...Will it hit her!?
Trochískos avoided the blow by deflecting it. And he deflected it out to the right instead of up into the air.
Then the four Trochískos' moved simultaneously. They surrounded Kanzaki, raised their books, and swung them.
"Watch out!"
Several voids were launched.
But just beforehand, Shobu heard a shouted warning. It came from Kanzaki.
"Kimura!"
Kimura's decision was a simple one.
While she flew through the air, she saw Kanzaki move out ahead of her and lift her knee.
...Oh, now I get it.
So Kimura raised her right leg. She stuck out her shoe's sole as if kicking it toward Kanzaki. And...
"Understood!"
Kanzaki sent the bottom of her own foot toward Kimura.
Kimura's guess and Kanzaki's foot were both accurate.
They pushed off of each other's right foot and Kimura held her hand to her chest.
"Oh."
Thanks to Kanzaki's excellent sense of balance, the force of the kick on the sole of her shoe passed straight up her spine. Or so it felt.
And Kimura knew that Kanzaki's jumps were just as powerful as Yuki's Hassou Tobi. So...
"––––––"
They flew apart from each other, one forward and one back.
.
Trochískos laughed deep in his gut.
...Fascinating!
The Solo A-Rank Agent had thrown someone and then used them as midair footing to launch herself again. The Trochískos copy that had taken a step back in the lead was forced to catch the flying Shoulder Girl, preventing it from attacking with a void. At the same time, the Shoulder Girl crashed back-first into the copy approaching from behind.
"...!"
It began to vanish.
But the Shoulder Girl was already moving by then. She sighed, and...
"There!"
She grabbed the wrist of the disappearing copy and aimed the black book at another copy.
When the void was released, it scored a direct hit on the copy to the left, causing it to disappear.
Meanwhile, the disappearing one lost the last of its strength and vanished.
"–––––––"
The Solo A-Rank Agent used the force of her swinging left arm to turn toward the lead copy holding onto the Shoulder Girl.
Only that one and the one to its right remained.
The one on the right ran alongside them and the one in the lead took a step back without letting go of the Shoulder Girl.
The Solo A-Rank Agent responded by controlling her orientation with the many sign frames spilling from all over her body. She turned her gaze toward the lead copy.
When she saw it was holding the Shoulder Girl, she gasped in surprise.
"Only cowards take hostages!"
"You threw her at me!"
Then Trochískos saw some light.
...Oh?
It came from his chest. A sign frame had appeared above the Shoulder Girl's shoulder.
An anteater on a trion display bowed to him
[Explosion Trigger – Transfer – Activate – Confirm.]
The corners of Trochískos's mouth rose just as the sign frame exploded.
.
The lead Trochískos was blown away, leaving only the one on the right.
Kanzaki reviewed the situation.
The lead one was gone. Kimura appeared as the smoke from the blast faded.
Kimura was moving. She had fallen onto the roof and she was wiping away the smoke from the Meteora behind her.
She had to wipe away some tears caused by the smoke, but she was fine. So...
"––––!"
Kanzaki moved in.
She curved a bit to the right to reach the final Trochískos there.
She had one chance at winning this.
...He will need to adjust for the change in vision after the copies' destruction!
There had been several Trochískos', but now they were gathered into just the one again. His vision, hearing, and other senses were being narrowed back down to just the one.
There would be a delay before he managed that. So...
"I can use that!"
Kanzaki had no weapon. Nor did she have Kimura's weight. She would have to attack with her shoulder.
...By tackling!
Chisato was chasing after the others when she saw Trochískos's decisions and the other movements that followed.
First, Trochískos swung his right hand. But he swung it backwards instead of at the Forward Attacker rushing in at him.
He launched the void toward unoccupied space.
That seemed meaningless, but the gouging power would likely eat through the air. So while the space seemed empty, there was wind there to be devoured.
"––––––"
Trochískos was sucked in toward the absence of air. With the sound of a bursting vacuum, his outer suit was torn, but he managed to take a large step back.
That put more space between him and the Forward Attacker.
It was not much, but Chisato judged it was enough for Trochískos. Because...
...It gives him time to recover from the sensory confusion caused by the copies!
That meant the man would be back to normal.
There was no more opening there.
He turned to face the Border Forward Attacker who was defenseless now that her attack had been dodged.
And he swung his large book as a counterattack while theBorder Forward Attacker prepared to take another step.
But just as he made the attack with his left arm...
"...!"
He was blown away.
The Suzaku Squad Captain had sniped him in the back from the middle group.
...He...did it!
Shobu sensed the perfect hit.
He had noticed Kanzaki and Kimura's combo play make short work of Trochískos's copies and now he knew why.
"...It was to hide...this..."
Throwing Kimura had been to draw Trochískos's attention in that direction.
And Kanzaki had done something when Trochískos had adjusted himself at the end there.
After her final attack was dodged, she had prepared for her next move but not actually made it.
By staying still, she had kept Trochískos from moving out of Suzaku's sights.
And focusing on Kanzaki had required the fox to turn her back on the middle group.
That was Kanzaki's reason for continuing to fight even after losing her weapon. She had made that tackle to prove she could still fight.
...It was all...so she could distract him from...us over here...
Suzaku only had to make use of that opportunity. And...
"Hit!"
He had done so.
But once Shobu thought about it...
"...W-wait, isn't that...overdoing it...?"
Trochískos was nowhere to be seen at the site of the direct hit. Only a wisp of trion light smoke remained.
Zoe: "Was that even an anti-personnel attack?"
Hero: "Sumiharu? Does a physical copy count as personnel?"
Inu: "Well, the last of the physical copies is considered to be the original person again."
Life: "Then let's test it out on Inukai! Umi! Lend me your rifle!"
Umi: "I can't do that. You need special permission to use it!"
Demon Child: "You would've given it to him if it didn't?"
Kanzaki took a breath on the roof.
She relaxed and then released her Soaring Wings Trigger.
...I can't catch up to Sensei from here.
But she had done her duty. They had achieved a great feat as a group here.
"Caster Trochískos has been-"
The word "defeated" never arrived.
Kimura raised both hands while walking toward Kanzaki on the roof. Then she placed her hands on Kanzaki's shoulders.
...Nh?
Something about this felt wrong. The feeling was a lot like a chill.
"Kanzaki!"
Then she heard Kimura's voice, but not from the girl standing in front of her.
It came from a hole created by one of the voids.
"I'm down here!"
She did indeed see Kimura down in the broken building.
...What does this mean?
"Too bad," said the Kimura smiling with her hands on Kanzaki's shoulders. She spoke with Trochískos's voice.
There was no need to question it because a glowing mist scattered and that Kimura disappeared.
Outer suit Trochískos stood there instead.
"That was indeed a close one." He placed his hands below Kanzaki's arms now. "The display on the Shoulder Girl's shoulder used an explosion Trigger. It could have been an impact Trigger, a repulsion Trigger, or anything really, so why an explosion? To hide the scene behind me with the blast."
In other words...
"I knew you had to be preparing something behind me."
.
I screwed that one up, thought Kimura with a hand on her forehead in a dusty storeroom. I used had to use trion stored from Kanzaki to do that, so it wasn't like I could do much afterwards.
Her mistake had been the selection of Trigger. She had tried to be clever, but that had felt unnatural.
Which may have been why she had been dropped into this hole created by a void when the blast hit.
Trochískos had used the empty space to cushion against the blast. Still, Kimura had thought Trochískos must have taken some damage and that her own absence would not change much really. However...
"I didn't expect him to transform into me!"
Kanzaki had set up a checkmate against the Trochískos on the right, but that had not been the final one. It was only a decoy.
And now, up on the roof, Trochískos spoke with a book over his mouth.
"The thing about illusionist is, we will feign sights to lure the audience away from our real performance. You fell for exactly the same trick."
Kimura wanted to complain, but it was a solid tactic. Trochískos had taken Kimura's place to ensure his own safety, almost like he was using camouflage magic.
"Ho ho," he laughed. "You seem to fight well against an honest opponent who fights by physical means, but you appear to have difficulty with illusions."
That was true.
During the invasion, the inner battles, and most every battle since, they had generally fought powerful trion soldiers and fighters who used their strength and skill to stand in their way. If anything...
...The duels against outself were the closest thing to this.
"You understand, don't you?" said Trochískos. "This is my specialty. Miden has a long way to go if you would fall so easily for an illusionist's illusions."
He lifted up Kanzaki and then hugged her tight.
"Caught you! Finally, one of the big ones!"
Demon Child: "Nice. Public humiliation is exactly the kind of scenario I'm looking for."
Umi: "Well, this was an unknown person against a Forward Attacker!"
Iko: "We all work together and this is how it ends?"
Shobu: "...U-um...are you ready...t-to work together...again...?"
Mi-Kon: "Why, Tenryū-san? I did not take you for the bloodthirsty type."
Still Got It: "Oh, come now. Forget about me and I really will hit you with these trucks."
Almost Everyone: "Ahhhhhh!"
Murakami got Akasora in his sights just before the open pathway.
He was running across the top of the tall building at the Forbidden Zone's edge and his quarry was about to cross between the border.
...At this pace, I should catch up in one of the park areas!
He had the greater speed. He was stabilizing himself by now, but...
"I can still carry out the command given to me!"
Okay, he thought while preparing to run down vertical wall.
"Eh?"
A shadow was cast from behind him.
It was still morning and they were traveling east to the city, so the base was pointed east. Any shadows would be cast back, but...
...What's tall enough to reach the top of this building!?
He knew who to blame without needing to look back.
"Kushikage-san!"
Kushikage smiled when his brother's friend contacted him for once.
Still Got It: "Oh boy, Kō! What has you missing your surrogate sister so much in the middle of class? Is there a problem you need help with!? I can answer anything you might need to know about reproduction, home medicine, and stamens and pistils! So don't be shy and raise your hand! C'mon! Do it!"
Black Wolf: "Kushikage-san! What are you doing right now?"
Kushikage thought as she ran. She placed her right index finger on her lips and tilted her head.
...Oh, that stall ahead on the left smells nice.
She paid with a quick hand pass and snatched up some chicken skewers from the nearby food stall, all while continuing to run. She held the skewers between her fingers to partake of their chickeny goodness.
Still Got It: "Kō, I am busy consuming a drink at the moment."
Black Wolf: You mean chicken, don't you!? Chicken skewers!? If you got that one level over on the border, it must have been from Hattori Hen-zo, run by a really nice family! You didn't destroy it, did you!?"
Still Got It: "My, my, Kō. I think I cleaned them out for the day."
Black Wolf: "Kushikage-san! First you destroy the city and now you're depriving the rest of us of chicken!? Do you think you can get away these atrocities!?"
"Hm," thought Kushikage. And...
Still Got It: "Kō? But I'm not a normal Mikado City resident."
Black Wolf: "Have you ever heard taking responsibility for your actions!? Also- uh, oh."
Still Got It: "Uh, oh?"
Just as she tilted her head, the transport trucks held in her raised left arm the sky shook like a ringing bell.
The truck had crashed into something up above.
Konami spat out her water while watching from atop the Tamakoma Branch.
B-Rank Hyuse glared over at her while resting his elbow on the edge of the roof to watch the same thing.
"Gross. Clean that up."
"Yeah, but...did you see that!?"
She pointed over at one of Mikado City's inner areas, where the vertical transport truck had hit the bridge-shaped archway.
Not just hit, crashed into.