Chapter 272
Even as we made a barricade out of the dolls and set up a formation behind it to prepare for a siege, the high-ranking ninja did not rush to stop us.
He merely approached, swinging his arms in a leisurely manner.
It was as if he was saying that such a meager defense wouldn’t even be close to enough. His arrogant demeanor and gait showed just how much he looked down on us.
Fear suddenly welled up. Stepping back, I helped the sprawled Team Leader Hank to his feet.
“…I’m fine.”
Perhaps because he was such a tough individual as he said, Team Leader Hank hadn’t suffered any major injuries.
The problem was that his right foot and calf below the knee had been completely sliced off.
Since his entire lower body was originally a full-body prosthetic, there was no need to worry about bleeding, but the problem was his movement speed. With only one leg, it wouldn’t be easy for him to participate in combat.
He was holding the cleanly severed metal leg in his hand, but reattaching it would be a chore.
Getting proper repairs would be a matter after our escape from the Mirror Castle.
[terrorist detected. Immediately eli - ]
Clatter.
The Dolls were swept away like a swarm of ants being tormented by a child with a wooden stick.
As if ground down by an industrial saw blade rather than a sword wielded by a person, the wall of robots collapsed in an instant, and amidst the scattering lenses, motors, arms, and sensors… the pitch-black figure drew even closer.
At this point, I lost all sense of reason.
“You…! You said we only needed to hold him off for a moment! You must have had a plan to pull a stunt like this! Hurry up and do something!”
Throwing away polite honorifics, I shouted while violently shaking Prezen Meredith’s shoulders.
Ending up massacred by a ninja like this was just wrong!
If he spouted some irresponsible nonsense about not having a plan, I fully intended to just throw him to the ninja as bait.
Perhaps noticing my fierce demeanor, Prezen Meredith likewise threw away formalities and urgently shouted.
“It’s almost done, so don’t interfere and wait!”
Don’t interfere? Looking at him in confusion, I saw his lenses glowing blue.
He seemed to be manipulating something through his internal interface. It might be connected to the chip he pulled from Elaine Meredith’s corpse.
The speed at which the dolls were being sliced apart grew even faster, perhaps as if sensing something. Through the narrow gaps between the limbs of the crumpled corpses, an Eerie Dance dug in and extended a line of death.
Slice, slice, slice, slice -
A terrifying noise pierced the ears.
This is the end. We can’t hold out any longer. Trusting this crazy noble artist was a mistake from the start!
I was debating whether I should grab Alexandra and run away right now, or if I should throw Prezen first as planned.
“Now! It’s done! It’s here! Hahahahahaha!”
As if the intense pressure had truly driven him mad, Prezen Meredith let out a mad cackle. Just as I was thinking that throwing him would indeed buy us more time.
Vwoom-
Along with a familiar activation sound, a red light flickered from somewhere beyond the translucent wall.
“Bullshit, no way.”
I screamed a shriek.
“Everyone, Get Down!”
And as I pressed my body to one side and ducked my head, the exploding crimson heat ray heated my skin, its presence was felt even without looking at it. My closed vision flashed scarlet.
Rumble.
The sound of collapsing and pouring debris was heard. Pushed by the pressure, I steadied my trembling legs, forced myself to stand, and opened my eyes.
A massive hole had been pierced through the floor, as if shot from below to above. There were also traces of it being burned, heated, and melted by the intense heat.
A humming noise drew closer. I could feel the vibrations.
From beneath the hole, something with massive object shot up at incredible speed.
Even the omnipotent communist High-ranking Ninja seemed to lose his strength in the face of that gradually approaching overwhelming presence.
“…!”
A swift preemptive strike was delivered by the ninja, who did not welcome the arrival of the new customer. Unlike the villains who wait for the protagonist to finish their transformation, he struck first before the entity could fully emerge.
The flexible glass blade struck down like lightning.
The single edge, which seemed capable of cutting anything in the world, was suddenly caught - smack! - by an iron grip that shot out from the pitch-black sinkhole.
Squeaking/Grinding Sound - .
A brief showdown. One side tried to pull the sword out, while the other tried to use the sword like a fishing rod to drag him into the ominous hole.
At first glance, they seemed evenly matched, but the superiority was clear. The ninja was using all his strength with both arms, but the opponent was only using a single arm that had popped out.
Of course, that single arm was thicker than both of my legs combined, and it was an exoskeletal weapon arm with not a single trace of biological organization to be found.
deny
Just seeing him stumble revealed his sense of frustration. The result of the strength-versus-strength clash was clear.
[This loach-like feeling… it’s familiar.]
A voice mixed with infrasound echoed from the hole.
Soon, a monster the size of a giant gorilla with a brutal full-body prosthetic floated outward, spewing flames from its spine.
It was hard to believe even when seeing it with my own eyes, but it was real. Thrusters activated from the frame near its spine, suspending that massive body in the air, and then, Thud!!!
It soon made a landing on the floor, causing a tremendous noise and vibration.
The Chrome Monster, Rodrick Grant Smith, had arrived. It was a truly overwhelming entrance.
“…Do - mo, Smith-san, I am the New-Mecha Communist Jōnin.”
[I wondered what kind of fearless Ninja bastard dared to swing a sword at me, but it was the Old Fox.]
The leaders of the two groups, the Communist faction and Dead Cell, faced each other in one place.
As expected of legendary figures in the terrorism industry who would be second to none, they conversed as if they knew each other.
My doubtful mind, wondering “Will this work?”, was filled with anxiety once again.
I understood what Prezen Meredith’s crazy idea was. Fight poison with poison; use a barbarian To strike a barbarian.
If we couldn’t stop the communist High-ranking Ninja from wreaking havoc, bring in the Chrome Monster who wreaks even more havoc. Pit the two monsters against each other so they wouldn’t have the time to pay attention to us.
With that thought in mind, he must have used the dolls or whatever else to lure the Chrome Monster all the way here.
It was the best tactic, as long as it worked, that is, if it worked.
But alas, the two monsters were capable of holding a conversation.
If they had agreed to put their fight on hold and deal with the nobles here first, we would all have been dead meat.
The High-ranking Ninja took one step back first and spoke in a rough voice that made it hard to guess his identity.
“Smith-san, how about we put aside our past grudges for a moment and deal with the public target first. Wouldn’t that be a wise decision?”
[Public Target? In my eyes, all I see is an old dog tucking its tail in fear of getting beaten. Don’t tell me you’re saying we need to join forces to deal with those small fries?]
As a formidable expert and the leader of a group, he had every right to be offended by the Chrome Monster’s Rude Remarks, but the High-ranking Ninja showed no such signs.
“They are no ordinary small fries. This ninja only just now realized it, but the actual family head of Marajitsu (Meredith) is here. It is only right to massacre them without leaving a single one alive, as planned!”
He wasn’t called an Old Fox for nothing. The High-ranking Ninja’s tongue was a weapon as powerful as his sword.
It was a true checkmate.
Those terrorists had invaded the Mirror Castle to eliminate the Meredith Family, so if the Chrome Monster was in his right mind, there was no way he would ignore those words.
Prezen Meredith seemed flustered, as if he hadn’t expected things to go this far.
[The Meredith Family Head? Who is that.]
“Right over there - .”
Vwoom.
Scarlet photons gathered. Their trajectory was clearly aimed at the High-ranking Ninja.
That’s right.
If he were in his right mind, he wouldn’t ignore it, but the Chrome Monster was not in his right mind. It was a fact everyone had momentarily overlooked.
――――――――――!
Heat that seemed to have risen from Hell swept through the atmosphere. Along with a flash of light, the world disappeared for an instant.
While everyone hastily threw themselves to the side, sprawling and tumbling, only a thick, cylindrical Dark Trajectory remained, melting the glass and crystals.
A trace that was like the Chrome Monster’s signature had reached the point where that terribly devastated scene felt familiar.
“What about the ninja?”
It was an attack that exquisitely targeted a moment of carelessness, but it was unlikely that the veteran High-ranking Ninja had died from that single blow.
If he had taken a direct hit, there would naturally be no way to survive, but he had surely dodged it.
However, he was nowhere to be seen. True to the ninja, he had clearly hidden his presence in that brief moment.
“Buddha! To think you were such a foolish bastard!”
The voice, spat out like a sigh, also buzzed and echoed, making it hard to guess where it was coming from.
Even Rodrick Smith seemed to have a hard time pinpointing the High-ranking Ninja’s location immediately, blinking his optic lens as he looked around.
[Are you there, Old Man!]
The Red light spread once again. The Photon Cannon was fired toward the floor this time, and the entire office floor shook precariously.
A cold sneer reached the ears of the Chrome Monster, who was running wild and turning his surroundings into ruins as if he were an incarnation of destruction.