Chapter 62
The tip of the finger was adjusting, widening and narrowing with Fine Mechanical Devices like a Camera Aperture.
The lens inside that hole and the laser particles within glinted menacingly.
Ned Ludd laughed at the sight of her Aiming the laser finger with a contorted face, looking as if she would burst into tears at any moment.
[A Military Optical Weapon... I don't know which Family you're from, but you must be a truly cherished child, huh? I didn't know you'd have something like that.]
[Shut your mouth and kneel. Unless you want a hole blown through your head right now.]
It was Alexandra, who just a moment ago had been standing frozen, merely watching as her bodyguards were ruthlessly slaughtered.
She had practically provided the cause for this fight herself, yet her bewilderment and guilt over being unable to do anything as the situation spiraled to such extremes... she looked mentally worn down in many ways.
I'm not trying to blindly defend her, but I think it was understandable.
She is someone who has grown up sheltered her entire life.
But imagine witnessing blood splattering and people's heads being chopped off right in front of your eyes.
She was directly experiencing the Murder Scene of a brutal gang that she had only heard about in words or seen in movies and dramas.
Her hands and feet would freeze Cold, and her brain wouldn't spin properly. She might even be thinking that everything she was experiencing right now was just a dream.
The fight she had imagined was one where she coolly beat down Thugs and showed off,
not this gruesome reality where actual people, especially those she knew so well, died helplessly to protect her.
Regardless of how much money was invested in cyberware, Implants, or Body Modification, the reality was that anyone could lose their life if they let their Guard down for a moment and lost the momentum and the initiative.
She had belatedly come to her senses and stepped up, but it was already too late.
Fear and anger flickered in her eyes as she looked at the bodyguards who were either dead or, even if they miraculously survived, clearly suffered fatal injuries that threatened their lives.
That sharp sapphire gaze glared at Ned Ludd.
[Can you even aim properly with those trembling hands? A human head isn't that easy to hit. I know very well because I've hit them many times.]
[Shut up! I'll kill you. I'm going to kill you.]
Even though she raised her finger as if To Fire a high-output Laser Beam at any moment, Ned Ludd showed no sign of surprise.
Rather, as if their positions were reversed, he mocked the trembling Young Lady.
[Have you Ever killed anyone? Saying that while you're so terrified isn't scary at all...]
Then the light flashed again.
You can't see it with your eyes and dodge it, but you can anticipate it by watching the movements beforehand and move your body.
Was it heavenly luck, or skill? Or was it because her aim was shaky?
He sharply spun his body in an instant, and the Energy Beam grazed past, searing his cheek.
*At the same time, as if Aiming only for that moment, the Mantis Ronin from the side swung the blade surging from his arm once again.*
Swoosh—Thwack!
He caught the blade striking down at his shoulder. The Mantis blade, having cleaved halfway through the bone, could move no further.
Ned Ludd groaned in pain this time, letting out rough breaths.
[If you were going to kill me, you should have shot my heart with that laser earlier instead of my shoulder. Like this.]
And his hand, transformed into the shape of a sharp awl, was piercing the Ronin's chest. As he yanked it out, dark red blood dripped down.
[Hmm... you weren't a machine. Not that it matters much now.
That's a shame. Well, seeing how you operate, you must have spilled a lot of other people's blood too, so I believe you won't feel too wronged on your way out.]
He patted the head of the Ronin collapsing limply a few times, then turned his head and spoke.
[Now then, Young Lady, shall we settle the rest of our tab?]
Flash!
He lifted the dead Ronin's body To defend against the laser fired in terror. The beam pierced through the corpse's stomach, and at the same time, he violently hurled what he was holding.
The Dead Body flew like a baseball and pounced on Alexandra.
The swaying Mantis blade tore the Vinyl Sofa to shreds, sending Fiber Fragments flying.
Fortunately, the Blonde Young Lady wasn't badly hurt. She merely convulsed from being crushed under the corpse.
Thanks to her outstanding Physical Ability, throwing it off wasn't difficult, but the problem was what came next.
While her eyes were drawn to the Dead Body, Ned Ludd had already approached right up to her.
As he reached out with his hand missing two fingers, the remaining three electrodes shot out with a ping- attached to wires.
[That's why you shouldn't have picked fights with others so carelessly. And you shouldn't have hired Tin Can Bodyguards either. What is that? Like the fragile machines they are, they broke without even being able to do anything properly. Completely unreliable.]
After the black threads carrying electric currents embedded themselves into the wall around the Young Lady in succession, blocking her from going anywhere, he reached out his other hand.
Alexandra couldn't resist and merely shrank her entire body with her eyes closed.
[I hope you learn at least a little lesson from this in your next life.]
Slice.
But at that moment, the fingertip that had transformed into a sharp spear and was Shooting precisely for her glabella was cleanly severed.
[...What kind of Bastards are these now?]
The hand that regained its shape was deeply indented, as if a part of the prosthetic arm had been cut off.
Two Ronin appeared and stood before Ned Ludd, who was looking around with madness and bloodshot eyes.
[We don't exactly have a grudge against you... but it doesn't look like the situation will get any better if we just stay still like this anyway. You said you wouldn't let us out, right? You look exactly like the gang Leader, so if we kill you, we'll be able to Leave.]
[Just because of that, you blocked my path?]
At the beast-like growl from his tightly shut mouth, the neatly dressed Ronin spoke leisurely in his contrasting attire.
[Well, you seem to be a member of the Luddite gang, and quite an Expert at that. The bounty will be pretty sweet if we catch you. Plus, it looks like we can get some side income in exchange for saving the Rich Young Lady.]
[Aha. How smart. So you were deliberately waiting and watching for the timing, huh... Aiming only for me to get exhausted and injured, and as a bonus, holding off until the Young Lady was in enough danger.]
[Correct.]
The two Ronin approached with smirks.
One was Aiming the grenade launcher processor extending from his arm,
while the other was extending and swinging a wire whip from his hand.
It must have been that sharp carbon tube whip that sliced off one of Ned Ludd's arms earlier.
Even at a glance, there were no openings. It was a formation that could cover both Close Combat and ranged combat, as if they had been coordinating for a long time.
If he rushed in Recklessly, his body would be torn apart by the whip, and if he stepped back, he would be blown up by the grenade projectile.
On top of that, there was Alexandra on the side, who had regained a bit of composure and was Aiming her laser finger once again.
Surrounded on three sides, his eyes quickly looked around along with the flowing drops of sweat.
However, the other gang members looked too busy to come help. It was because the number of Ronin was too high.
No matter how intense the Luddite gang's momentum was, and even if there weren't many among the Ronin actively fighting, they couldn't easily Break Through a number that was more than double theirs.
[As you can see from the situation, there's No Way Out. Just Surrender quietly.]
[You don't plan on killing me?]
[If I remember correctly, the bounty is double if we capture alive.]
At those words, Ned Ludd clutched his stomach and laughed.
The sound of laughter bursting out in such an extremely disadvantageous situation was truly bizarre.
A stream of blood flowed from his chuckling mouth.
[Only double? You're trying to catch me because of that? No, if you capture me alive, you could probably get about fifty times the bounty you're expecting.]
[What kind of bull—.]
[My name is Ned Ludd. Those who know me call me General... Ah, my. You don't seem to understand what I'm saying. Thinking about it again, that bar Manager from earlier seems several times better than you Ronin. He understood right away.
To kindly explain it at your level, it means I'm one of the Three Masterminds of the Luddites that the DCPD is eagerly hunting for. So if you rip off my neck and offer it up, you might make a Sudden Fortune... but that probably won't happen.]
He paused for a moment, then continued, pulling up the corners of his mouth.
[Because you're all going to die here.]
Sensing something strange, one of the Ronin launched his wire tube, but Ned Ludd was already no longer in that spot.
He flew sliding away, pulling the electrode wire that had been stuck in the wall all at once. At the same time, a smokescreen burst with a clattering sound.
Grenades and lasers exploded, but they all just vanished and detonated in the smoke without knowing if they hit their target.
[Boys, now.]
Simultaneously with that signal, the Luddite gang members who had been waiting Outside the entrance rushed in all at once. They were leading with a large Black Box.
The box was wide open, showing off electrode wires and Mechanical Devices.
Coils, copper wires, antennas and detonators, capacitors, and all sorts of other Complex, unrecognizable parts revealed themselves with a creak.
On the front, as if telling everyone to look openly, a Cheap Display was placed, and a Timer Function was operating.
"00:05"
Everyone who saw the numbers expressed in a Digital Method freaked out and hid, bowing their heads and using tables and such as shields.
No matter who looked at it, it was a bomb. Anyone would think, "This Crazy terrorist gang has decided to blow this place up entirely!"
And their Judgment wasn't wrong. It was indeed a bomb. It just wasn't a conventional bomb.
4, 3, 2, 1... 0.
The countdown ended,
and the building shook with a massive reverberation. All the lights went out, and pitch-black darkness descended. The Cyberwatch also stopped working, albeit briefly.
Loud shouts and screams could be heard from Outside the Warehouse. It was the sound of the Luddite gang running rampant and wreaking havoc.
The time had come. Since the bomb had even gone off, there was no need to wait any longer.
I grabbed the items I had prepared and stood up from my seat. Taking a Deep Breath, I spoke to myself in my head.
...Shall I get going?