Chapter 259
The attempt to resolve things through dialogue was completely out the window.
I had a feeling it would turn out like this.
Even setting me aside, there was no way a Commie Ninja who worshipped New-Mecha Communism would just leave a direct family member of a noble family - practically The Deep-rooted evils of capitalism - alone.
I had wasted my energy on something useless, but I did gain something.
I bought time. Plenty of it, too.
Sssshk - Crunch!
I barely blocked the flashing single-edge with the finger guard from sliding down the blade of my greatsword and tearing into my flesh.
If I hadn’t reacted, my right arm would have been completely shredded to rags.
The ninja pushed me back with force and shouted.
“Aaron! Step aside! There is nothing I wish to avoid more than killing a worker comrade with my own hands! This katana only needs to be stained with the blood of the bourgeoisie!”
“If you want to avoid it so much, then you back off! I have my own reasons for desperately needing to protect this young lady!”
“Ooooooh Buddha! Are you truly putting me to the test? May you have no regrets in the Yellow Springs (Underworld)!”
The certainty I felt at this point was that this Communist Ninja was severely underestimating me.
Every single thing he said exuded an arrogant confidence that he could kill me whenever he wanted, even as I tried to block his blade combat.
Then again, it made sense.
That ninja was an incredible expert.
Just from fighting me for a brief moment, he must have quickly realized that I wasn’t a significant threat.
Perhaps because I had gotten used to the microchip, both my Cognitive Ability and exercise had surpassed the standards of an ordinary person, but even so, I still fell far short compared to the prominent ronin or criminals of Dusk City.
Since I hadn’t brought the jet engine saw, I didn’t have a decent weapon, and my fighting skill was nothing special.
I was just barely holding on thanks to the motor assistance function of the Kinetic Drive built into my suit.
It was only natural, since I had never learned any killing martial arts. Just a year ago, I was an ordinary university student.
So, even though I was blocking his attacks fairly well, he must have realized I was a novice whose combat technique wasn’t fully honed, which was why he was so relaxed.
'But… aside from his high skill, I don’t think he’s a master.'
If he were a truly experienced and seasoned master, he would never have let his guard down, knowing that no matter how clumsy I looked, I might be hiding some Trump Card.
In the first place, he wouldn’t have done something as bizarre as a bourgeois test and given me time to catch my breath.
If my thoughts were correct, that Communist Mid-level Ninja, despite his fighting skill, belonged to the category of those who didn’t have much Combat Experience.
That was good news for me.
Thanks to that, an opportunity had arisen.
The current me was no match for the Communist Mid-level Ninja. That was a self-evident fact.
But would that still be true for the me after flipping the switch?
Five minutes had passed. The microchip’s cooldown was over.
Now it was my turn.
Was there ever a better time for a counterattack than when the opponent had let their guard down?
'Let’s go.'
Even without a specific request, the System Assistant unexpectedly and neatly fulfilled its role.
Click-
The staggering blade stopped, and the air warped. I could vividly feel every single bumpy protrusion on the greatsword’s handle scale.
As much as the world slowed down, I became faster. Within this incredibly selfish equivalent exchange, I could do so many things. Far more than the previous me had vaguely imagined.
The world expanded as if a sleeping brain had awakened. After a strict judgment made in that brief span of time, I simply relaxed the hand holding the greatsword and let go of the hilt.
“…!”
At the same time the greatsword bounced away, the katana thrust forward with the momentum to pierce my neck.
His claim that he didn’t want to kill a worker comrade must have been true, because the Communist Ninja seemed more panicked himself for a moment, his eyes widening through his mask as he reflexively tensed his muscles to change the trajectory.
In terms of time, it was a conflict lasting a mere fraction of a second, perhaps 0.3 seconds.
He thrust the katana as if belatedly steeling his resolve, but 0.3 seconds was plenty for the current me.
I lightly raised the back of my hand, pressing it perfectly flush against the flat of the katana’s blade, and pushed it away. The ninja panicked and applied even more force, but what mattered wasn’t force. It was direction.
Swoosh.
The Japanese sword passed by, drawing a tiny thread of a line and a bead of blood on my neck. It was exactly as I had predicted. Even before seeing the result, I had already pulled the trigger.
Bang, bang, bang - - !
A gun is the strongest and greatest personal weapon that anyone could wield even without incredible fighting skill.
A clean ultra-close range shooting aimed for a blind spot at the perfect moment. It couldn’t be dodged.
Right before being hit by the bullets, the ninja twisted his body. It was an attempt to minimize the impact right before getting struck.
His stealth suit, made of a rather excellent graphene bulletproof material - even if not quite on the level of my suit - could not be completely penetrated by a mere standard-issue pistol.
However, the thousands of joules of kinetic energy contained in the bullets couldn’t be overcome just by twisting one’s body.
My hand was already aiming the front sight at the spot where the upper chest vitals of the ninja’s body, which was being pushed back, would be positioned.
Because I had prepared in advance, I had enough time to spare that it wouldn’t matter if I let my thoughts wander for a moment.
[Test Subject. There is not much activation time remaining.]
“I know. Just 5 more seconds.”
That would be enough.
The timing was just right, too.
Now.
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang - - - - !
I poured all the bullets into an unavoidable trajectory, creating a tight grouping. The pistol, having served its purpose, was now just a hindrance, so I dropped it and started running.
Familiar blood flowed from my nose. The burden of that usual feeling of my brain melting was intense.
But it wasn’t over yet. To make it in time, I had to move quickly with all my might. I had absolutely no intention of letting my guard down.
I could tell the situation without even looking.
The Ninja truly was an incredible powerhouse.
Bullets were faster than the speed of sound, reaching their destination even before the sound of the gunshot could be heard; he dodged and blocked them with his sword using the power of his reaction nerves and predictions that were even faster.
He did so even in what should have been his most vulnerable moment. If he had been in perfect condition, he really might have been able to deflect them all.
In other words, he couldn’t do it this time. There were simply too many bullets for that.
Three shots. One pierced his diagonally twisted flank, another hit his arm, and the last one ricocheted and unluckily struck his pelvis dead on.
And that was the decisive blow.
Even the Communist Ninja, who had been enduring the hail of bullets with superhuman durability and physical strength, collapsed, unable to move his lower body after taking a direct hit to between his torso and legs.
It wasn’t a fatal wound. The paralysis was strictly a temporary phenomenon. Depending on his modification level, his recovery speed could be beyond imagination.
But it was enough. The fight was already over.
Ping-!
The greatsword that had been sent flying by the ninja’s katana bounced off the curved crystal wall a few times and was only just now returning. Right on time, I was reaching my hand out to that spot.
As I clenched my fist in the empty air, the greatsword was caught in my grasp the very next moment. Just as I had planned, I brought down the greatsword I had caught, like a boomerang and placed it against the nape of the ninja’s neck.
Clack.
It was my victory.
“…”
Click.
Right about then, the switch turned off again. The clear sense of omnipotence, where it felt like I could see the answers to all the world’s problems, vanished.
Now, if I were told to fight that ninja again, I would lose a hundred times out of a hundred.
But it was enough. The single victory I had already achieved had granted me the power over life and death of my enemy.
The blade was touching bare skin. I could easily stab him to death just by pressing down hard.
Unless he had installed some modification that turned the inside of his skin into a steel plate barrier, he would absolutely die. If he showed even the slightest sign of resistance, I planned to dispose of him immediately without hesitation.
…No, actually, the wisest choice would have been to stab him to death before even having these thoughts.
It was just that I was weak-hearted.
It wasn’t my first time killing a person. But until now, they had either died when I hadn’t directly intended to kill them, or I had shot them to death with a gun.
There had never been a situation like this where I had to directly pierce the flesh of a fellow human with a bladed weapon from up close and see the blood.
Of course, whether I killed with a gun or a sword, the result of taking a human life was no different. I knew that too. It was a psychological issue.
The hand holding the greatsword was damp with sweat.
The Communist Ninja gulped with the blade resting against his neck. That tiny movement nearly startled me into slicing him right then and there.
“…Excuse me. Aaron. I should have realized when I saw your Asian features, but to think you were hiding your true strength and identity… I committed a grave disrespect by failing to recognize you as a teacher who has mastered the ultimate secrets of karate. It is because my karate-sight was lacking. The only way to apologize for this disturbance is, of course, death…Hup! Sayonara (Goodbye)!”
He squeezed his eyes shut, sweating profusely.
Unlike the content of his words, which acknowledged defeat and attempted to accept death resolutely, his body was trembling uncontrollably.
An ironic situation where both the one trying to kill and the one about to be killed were tense and covered in sweat.
When I remained silent and still, the ninja opened his eyes to slits and spoke timidly.
“…A-are you not going to kill me? It is shameful as a loser, but if you are going to do it, please do it q-quickly.”
The sight of him trembling again and closing his eyes was quite funny. I let out a light sigh.