Chapter 43
"Well! It's moving down there! They're pulling at each other's legs..." Ryuji observes.
"Instead of bothering with diamond, some people target those who covet it it's easier." I tighten my grip on the bar, a bitter taste in my mouth.
We're on the roof of a building near a police station, where the diamond bracelet appeared. Ryuji and I watch the battle unfold in the streets, car explosions, grenade or power explosions, dead civilians sprawled on the ground, death marks of players also present, repeated gunfire...
(The dead are raining down and there's nothing I can do...)
"Uh... There, I've blocked the access to the stairs... will that do?" Sui asks timidly.
I turn towards her to see that she has blocked the exit door with ice, using the water tank just above.
"Very good work!" Ryuji agrees.
"Yes, we don't have much to fear from this side." I nod in return, before turning my gaze back to the battle.
(All that's left is to go to the police station, find the bracelet and come back...).
"Don't worry..." Shuka steps closer and presses against my arm. "I won't let you go!"
We both pass through the other side of the barrier, our feet almost in the air.
"Take it easy..." I'm half confident. "If I faint, your new chain will disappear."
"It makes things even more exciting!" She wraps the chain around herself and me and leaps into the void, dragging me with her.
I can't help but look down, seeing the ground coming up at great speed, but Shuka puts her hand on my chin and lifts my head, looking into her eyes, she flashes a big smile.
"Hold on tight!" She says.
As I watch her send her chain clinging to a building, I brace myself against her, my arms encircling her waist, then send us waltzing between the buildings. I unintentionally release Shuka, but she holds on to me, tightening her chains around me. We fly over a building before darting towards one of the police station's windows. She sends her chains crashing through the window and clinging to the floor and ceiling to slow us down.
"Successful landing!" She announces, placing me gently on the ground. "Are you okay?"
"Han han... pretty much..." I catch my breath and stand up. "No time to lose, let's go."
We run through the corridors, phone in hand, looking for the diamond bracelet, which moves around the building. When we get close, I signal Shuka to stay behind me, letting her know that I'll try to negotiate before attacking if necessary.
(The person holding the bracelet also stopped, a power of perception?)
"I'm talking to the player who owns the diamond bracelet!" I raise my voice so he can hear me from across the hall. "We're not here to fight, we just want to negotiate!"
Hearing nothing, I decide to slowly step out of the corner, arms raised.
"This face... Senji Emiya?!" Said the surprised man.
"But you're the cop who came by my house!" I reply, all as surprised as he is. "What are you doing here!"
(What's he doing here? Is he accompanied by the young cop who was with him?)
"Is he a policeman?" Shuka asks. "Yet I hear they're systematically eliminated from the Darwin's Game, they've really decided to take it to the next level..."
"You already knew everything, when you questioned me?" I ask, perplexed.
"No! I got roped into this a few days ago, I swear!" He answers immediately.
I watch him for a few seconds, remaining silent.
"Okay, I believe you, I didn't have much choice either. I've got a deal for you." I propose.
"Which is it?"
"Let me just take a look at your bracelet, in exchange I'll give you some tips on how to stay alive. Well?"
"...I just have to show it to you, right? No problem, if you've got any info for me!" He accepts, putting his hand in his pocket.
"If I were you, I wouldn't make any sudden moves!" Shuka gives him a dark look, which surprises him.
He pulls out the bracelet, which I scan with my phone, displaying the latest numbers.
"Okay, that's it! If you value your skin, get rid of that bracelet and hide somewhere, as long as you have even one ring on you, you'll be a target for other players."
"But if I don't have three, I'll die!"
"Not if someone finishes the game, and we intend to. Anyway, it's up to you." I turn to him one last time, then turn back to Shuka.
Worried about Rain and the florist, I send Rain the last number anyway.
The diamond number is "185911". Do you see what that corresponds to?'
Leaving the police station, joined by Ryuji and Sui, we're moving away from the clashes, when an earthquake stops us.
"An earthquake at this time?" Shuka is surprised.
I look behind us, to see the hotel we'd taken refuge in blown up on several floors and collapsing in a huge smoke screen.
The smoke from the fire is so black it would almost merge with the black sky if it weren't for the fire we can see from where we are.
"This explosion is the hotel!" Ryuji can't believe his eyes.
"Don't dawdle, we need to hurry up and finish the game." I turn around, clenching my fists so hard I'm bleeding, fully understand what happened.
(So that's how you intended to use the traps... Hiragi Ichiro...)
We finally arrive at the coordinates given by Rain, Shibuya station. But we stop just before, seeing the place guarded by armed men.
"There they are, it's the Eighth, they're here before us these bastards, that means One is here too!" Ryuji grows impatient.
"What do we do? Are we trying to sneak in?" Sui asks.
"Or we can go into the pile and deal with this Eighth trash, they're much more useful dead." Shuka shivers her chain.
"There's no time for discretion, knowing that Rain is inside." I charge my magic circuits, which answers their question. "Ryuji, get their attention, if you can take out a few of them that's even better."
"Ah! I like that!" Ryuji arms his machine gun.
"Sui, you see the fire hydrants, do you think you can use them?"
"Um..." She takes a deep breath, then her gaze changes. "Yeah, I see them, I'll take care of them, they won't understand what's going to happen!"
"Shuka, attack them from the air, they won't expect it."
"Okay, how about you?" She asks me.
"I'm just going to bump into them." I declare, projecting a blade.
Seeing this, Ryuji stands up and steps forward, pulling the trigger. He fires without warning in their direction, surprising them and killing some of them, while the others take cover and can only wait for the bullets to stop raining down.
I pass behind him and throw my blade at one of them, who tries to shoot Ryuji. The blade digs into his shoulder, he falls, and I swap places with the blade landing on him, knocking the wind out of him. I turn to the left, take out my shuriken and throw them, piercing both Eighths. To the right, others point their weapons at me but, in an explosion of frost, find themselves completely frozen. I see people coming out of the station. I project a dozen swords and bring them down on them, dropping dead. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Shuka unleash her chain, piercing and destroying the last remaining members.
As they join me, I look at my phone to see no message from Rain, which worries me.
"Well, that was fast, so what's next?" Ryuji asks, reloading his weapon.
"Rain hasn't sent me a message in a while, I have a bad feeling." I put my phone away, blowing out a breath.
"Then you and Shuka go for it. You're faster than us, we'll catch up." Ryuji suggests.
I turn to Shuka, who nods in agreement.
"Okay, do you still have the flash grenade?" I ask him.
Without answering, he reaches into his back pockets and hands me the grenade.
"Take care, both of you!" Sui said.
"You too." I pat her on the head. "Okay, let's go Shuka!"
"Yeah!" She digs her chains into the ceiling and dashes off.
I strengthen my body and run at full speed. I jump over staircases and escalators, roll back down and take off again.
"I can take care of those in front of me, I'm counting on you to cover me!" I look above me, seeing her swinging with the help of her chains.
"Of course! It's slaughter time!" She gets ahead of me and starts killing the Eighths trying to block our way.
I hurl a dozen swords at them, impaling them on the spot or sending them tumbling. I pick up a sword and turn, following the wide corridor. We continue on our way, Shuka swinging the corpses at the others to throw them off balance. I bring my sword down on them, having no protection, killing them I pierce one of them, use it as a human shield to dodge a burst of bullets, then rush towards it and pierce it, extending my whole body towards it.
"I see her, at the end!" Shuka points to Rain's position.
I let myself slide, rounding the corner of the corridor, unpinning the grenade and throwing it with all my might, arriving right in front of Rain and the person blocking her. Rain shields her eyes, but not the guy, who is forced to cover his eyes after the explosion lights up the whole station. Rain gets out of the way and rushes towards me, tears almost in her eyes.
"Huh?! Damn you!" Swears the guy.
"Say, I almost waited!" Said Rain, finally safe near us.
"But we did it as fast as we could." I reply, seeing that her arm is broken.
"Who the hell are you punks?!" Rants the guy, having regained his senses.
"You are the leader of the Eighth, aren't you? Here's what I propose: a deal or war. The choice is yours!" I ignore his threats.
"Did I hear you right?! You want to haggle?!" He raises an eyebrow.
He had medium length hair that was tied into dreads. He wore an uniform consisting of a white sleeveless shirt, a black vest with the number 8 on the back, and jeans. Two percings on the bottom lip and tattoos all down the arms.
"That's right. We've got information that's crucial to the treasure hunt, so there's probably something to work out!"
"What do you guys think?" He turns to the members of his clan. "These ladies and gentlemen want to negotiate!"
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" They all start laughing.
"They are totally fucking with us! Let's do them all!" Says one guy, who pulls out two pistols.
"Not so fast, we have to leave one alive, for the news!" Says another with sunglasses.
"Does it fit in your little heads? We don't need to negotiate, we take what we want! That's how it works with us! So spit it out and get it over with!" exclaims One.
"I warned you!" Ryuji points his gun at them. "Diplomacy is too evolved for these primates, they're only interested in slaughter!"
"I can see that, yes..." I can only nod in agreement.
"It's just as well, I prefer action too!" Shuka prepares to pounce.
"They leave us no choice!" Rain stands behind me.
"Uh but, what's going to happen?!" Sui panics.
"I think it's clear..." I place my hand forward charging my magic circuits.
"Slaughter them!" One gives the order and all his crew members fire.
[RHO AIAS] I raise the shield, protecting everyone behind it. The bullets stop, crush against or ricochet off, but I feel the impact through my whole body, which makes me wince. Ryuji notices this and starts shooting.
"Shuka, Sui, anytime!"
Without answering me, Shuka coils Sui's chain and flies off quickly, dodging bullets and disappearing into the station's labyrinth.
"Rain, can you run?" I ask her.
"I have to, I don't want to die here!" She replies, holding up her broken arm.
"Okay, Ryuji, you can let off some steam, but first..." I concentrate and in bluish flashes, a score of clones of me appear around us. "I'll leave you a little present."
"Wow! Nice surprise, let's go guys!" Ryuji reloads and picks up again as I make the shield disappear.
"Follow me! I'll guide you with my sigil!" Rain starts to run away.
"Well then? Is that all you've got?! You're not going to scare me with your little guns!" Ryuji can be heard strafing all over the station, leaving no opening for Eighth, with the help of Shuka, who quickly covers him, and Sui, who uses the station's various watering places.
"Senji, straight ahead!" Rain slowed down, seeing enemies.
"Let me do it!"
[BLOOD POINTER] I suck in energy and leap forward to face one of them. He falls surprised by my speed, allowing me to knock him out with a kick to the head.
"Two to your left and three to your right!" Rain warns me, hiding in a stairwell.
I project a sword and charge towards the three who are rounding me, taking them by surprise. They point their weapons at me, but I throw my overloaded sword first, which explodes on contact with the ground, sending the three of them hurtling through the corridor unconscious.
"Senji!" I turn to see Rain covering herself with the remaining two shooting at her.
I project a new sword and send it towards one of them, who finds himself impaled, the blade embedded in a pillar through his body.
"You son of a bitch!" Swears the last one left, emptying his entire mag at me.
I hide behind a wall and as soon as I hear the empty weapon clank, I run and slash his body, dropping dead to the floor.
I catch my breath, making my blade disappear, the blood on it falling away, the sound flashing unpleasant images, corpses burnt or almost to ashes...
My hands are shaking, my breathing is labored, my vision is starting to blur...
"Senji? Is everything all right?" Rain calls to me, not seeing what's going on, being from behind.
Hearing her voice, I come to. I turn and approach her to take cover.
"Yes, I was just catching my breath, that's all." I answer simply.
"...Sorry... I'm the reason we're here..." She said with her head down.
"No... from the moment they had beaten us to it was inevitable, our only chance of survival is to find the treasure." I answer firmly.
"I have to say Senji, you're doing bloody well, have you ever..."
"You could say that, yes..."
I remember the many corpses Kiritsugu would leave behind during his missions, claiming it was to save even more people, which I always found hard to believe.
(And in your opinion, Kiritsugu, have I chosen the right solutions, is what I'm doing the right thing?)
I turn to the bodies lying on the ground, then look down at my clothes covered in the blood of those same bodies.
"Senji! A spare chain please!"
Shuka's voice wakes me from my drowsiness, seeing her land right in front of us.
"Okay." I project a new chain without waiting, feeling the fatigue begin to rise.
"Thank you my Senji! Thank goodness you're here!" She exclaims, taking me in her arms.
"...Was it One's power that made such a clean cut?" I ask, seeing the state of the chain she was using, being shortened by several centimeters.
"Yes, it looks like he can use it in at least two different ways, to teleport and to slice!" Shuka explains.
"From what I know, he was an alter at first, then when he signed up for Darwin's Game, his power became decidedly more lethal. Both are the application of a space-manipulating power, even for the invincible queen, it would be too dangerous to fight him head-on!" Rain explains.
"Oh, I think I've got a chance! Anyway, I'll leave it to Ryuji anyway, so as not to deviate from Senji's strategy. And then you too must fulfill your mission, analyst!"
"Huh?"
"Allez Sui! Let's get the Eighth running!" Shuka sets off again, swinging her chains, with Sui hanging on her waist.
"Raah! Don't you dare make me dizzy! And for the last one, I'm Sota, not Sui!" Sota replies.
We watch them go for a few seconds before turning to Rain.
"Well, we'll try to find you a place that's a little bit safe, and then it's up to you."
"Aren't we going to help the others?" She asks, surprised.
"You, no, you have another mission. Discover the meaning of the number '185911', find the treasure and win the game."
[BOOST] On the roof of the station, I wait impatiently for Rain's message. Listening and watching the various explosions and gunfire across Shibuya, now a battlefield.
Then, after a few seconds, my phone vibrates and I open it to finally see Rain's message.
"Well done Rain, that's great work."
(Not only have we got the last piece of the puzzle, but Shuka, Sui and Ryuji are still holding back our opponents. Now all I have to do is finish the game without wasting a second.)
[BOOST] Feeling the effects of the fourth boost, I jump off the roof to land in the station. I don't pass anyone else, and when I arrive at the spot Rain has indicated, I see what's left of One's clan, Ryuji with one hand missing and One himself, laying on the ground a jar filled with fingers macerating in a liquid.
I can feel anger and disgust beginning to overcome me but I refocus straight away, losing my temper now would mean our defeat.
Then, out of the corner of my eye, I see Ryuji grabbing a wire connected to some grenades, ready to blow himself up with One behind him.
"Wait!" I push my voice high to get everyone's attention.
I present myself, hands up.
"What do you want?" Simply asks One.
"I surrender, don't kill me." One pulls a face, as if he'd just heard the funniest joke he's ever heard.
"What the...?" Ryuji pauses, understanding that this is obviously a big lie.
'Pff..." One writhes with laughter. "He came to apologize, how sweet! He makes me laugh so hard!" All the others burst out laughing too. "You're going to stand there quietly while I dissect your boyfriend, then it's your turn!"
"I'm not asking you to spare me without a quid pro quo." I lower my hand to take something from my pocket. "The real treasure, the one that was hidden in this station." I pull out a key. "Here it is!" I can see a change in One's attitude. "This key against my life, it's give and take!"
"There's no denying it, you're a real hoot!" One seems distinctly more serious, still keeping his haughty smile, which I intend to take away from him.