Chapter 61
He was a Special bodyguard protecting a Young Lady of a Noble Family, no less.
Although he had lost the initiative to an Unexpected Surprise Attack, his body seemed too well-defended in many ways to fall in a single Strike.
The decapitated bodyguard merely trembled as he lay collapsed on the floor, unable to stand, but the bodyguard scorched by the high-voltage current was different.
[Oh, you withstood this? I used it to send you off in one hit.]
[If I were an ordinary person, I would have died.]
He slowly raised his body. Lightning flashed in his eyes.
Despite having his vitals stimulated by an Electric Shock that far exceeded the Ventricular Fibrillation current of a heart, he looked as though he hadn't been shocked much.
Ned Ludd said with a snort.
[No, you should speak correctly. You aren't a person. That's why you live.]
His hand pointed at the burnt and torn suit and shirt, and the scorched Metal Exoskeleton inside.
A body made of steel.
The bodyguard of the Schneider Family was the android Ladam Radam.
The Ladam bodyguard frowned.
[...So you were a discriminator. Good thing we met.]
It seemed he still hadn't realized his opponents were the Luddite gang.
Even if they weren't Luddites, there were plenty of machine discriminators, and he didn't seem to think the Luddite gang would cause a rampage all the way in this district.
Brewing a Cold anger in response to the words “You aren”t a person,' he swung his hand, which had sprouted a Silver Saw blade.
Perhaps he had absorbed the current and converted it into a power source, and the power was faster and fiercer than imagined.
Ned Ludd ducked and stepped back several times, narrowly dodging the Attack.
Chairs breaking and tables splitting in the Process was a given.
After smashing the floor and fixtures in the area where the Ronin had all retreated, the bodyguard cornered Ned Ludd against the wall.
[There is nowhere left to dodge.]
[My, this is a big problem.]
He swung the silver blade toward that detestable rat-like face yawning without a Sense of Crisis, but... his arm was blocked in midair and could advance no further.
[...!]
When he hurriedly looked back in surprise, the Luddite gang members were pulling on wires connected to cyberarm projectiles they had embedded into the bodyguard's back simultaneously.
[Guaaagh...!]
He tried to move forward again, ignoring the wires stretched taut like rubber bands, but his body would no longer move.
Rather, it was amazing enough that he was holding his Ground without being dragged away even with four people pulling at once.
His red-burning eyes, the Unending Power that didn't stop even as all his clothes were ripped off and his flesh was torn, were truly a sight worthy of acknowledgment.
Ned Ludd reached out his hand again, seemingly unimpressed.
[It's not that I have nowhere to dodge, it's that you have nowhere to advance.]
Pazzzzzik─
He poured out the Blue Current once again, using both hands to grab the bodyguard's face, which was too large for one hand.
The Electric Attack spewing from his ten fingers burned the entire head black. The eyeballs popped, and the Fine circuits inside the head short-circuited.
[Why are you uselessly pretending to be cool? You guys are just acting as programmed.
Right? It's not like you're mustering courage or exerting willpower at all. You disgusting mimics.]
Uzzzzzzik─
He shoved his fingers into the eyes, nose, and ears to completely Finish him off, and stopped the Electric Discharge only when the trembling body no longer glowed and was on the verge of collapsing with a thud.
Ned Ludd shook off and wiped away the Ladam's Blue Bodily Fluid cleanly from his fingers and raised his head.
[Now, who's next? Are there any other machines to Step up before me?]
As he shouted that, the collar on one of his arms was split and fluttering. It seemed the Silver Saw blade swung by the Ladam bodyguard had grazed it.
Right in the center of the arm with its bare skin exposed, a Hammer-Shaped Tattoo seemed to ominously waver.
[The Luddite gang!]
Only then did the Ronin, having figured out the Identity of these unusual Factory workers, begin to murmur.
Even for the mercenaries of Dusk who made a living killing people, a terrorist gang was a presence to be avoided.
[Yes, that's right. That's us. This feels quite pleasant, like I've become a celebrity.
Anyway, I guess you all just realized. We made it pretty obvious, you know. The insight of your so-called mercenaries is worse than a mere Bar Employee's. It's a bit of a letdown.]
The reactions to Ned Ludd's words, spoken with a grin, varied.
Someone momentarily showed venomous eyes as if holding a grudge against the Luddite gang, while someone else put on a greedy face as if interested in the bounty.
And others, not liking to take risks or knowing the extremity of the Luddite gang, showed signs of wanting to back away.
However, no one was able to escape Outside the bar.
Coincidentally, it was because Ned Ludd, who had been pushed back by the bodyguard, ended up leaning against the wall right in front of the front door.
Was even this intended, or was it a pure coincidence?
Either way, the Luddite gang had a tight grip on the atmosphere of the scene.
Two had been Taken out by the bodyguards, leaving only five gang members in total.
Those five were pressuring nearly twenty Ronin.
Amidst the tense atmosphere, one Ronin stepped forward. He spoke toward Ned Ludd in an anxious voice.
[I have no interest in what you people are doing. I haven't seen or heard anything, so I just want to get out of here quickly.]
[Of course, I've never blocked the way. If you want to Leave, go right ahead.]
Unexpectedly, he easily stepped aside from the front door.
The shrewd Ronin stepped out of the entrance, staying vigilant in case of a Surprise Attack. Then, when nothing happened, he went down the stairs, rejoicing.
...It would have been better if he hadn't.
The Bar security system was also connected to external circuits.
When I connected to the low-quality Outdoor Camera via Split Screen, I could see unidentified individuals surrounding the building's entrance amidst the rain pouring down as if there were a hole in the sky.
There weren't many of them. There were five at most.
But the ominous aura transmitted even through the hologram, plus the various tool-shaped advanced weapons held in their hands, was palpable. Five was enough.
[...Huh?]
The Ronin who had gone down the stairs like a dart was surrounded and trampled by the gang, leaving only a single scream. He was shoved into the mud and dirty water without even being able to resist.
Guaaaaaaagh─
That desperate and intense cry reached the inside of the bar, stopping those who were about to follow him out the entrance in their tracks.
[Oh my, we've been caught. I told them to do it quietly.]
[...You never intended to let us Leave in one piece from the start.]
The words spoken by the panicked Ronin showed their hostility, and Ned Ludd's voice responded to them.
I let them go in one ear and out the other as I kept my eyes on the External Camera.
The large box was carefully held by the gang members who had instantly turned the escaping Ronin into a lifeless corpse. Its pitch-black gleam was incredibly threatening.
As expected of the Luddite gang, they had brought their Trademark.
I knew they would do that.
It's a good thing I prepared some countermeasures.
Holding the mechanical weapons and armor with Insulation Shielding that I had gathered in a short time, I looked around one last time to see if I had missed anything.
...There was one more thing that caught my eye.
That one didn't have Shielding Treatment and wasn't mechanical, so it was a bit ambiguous.
But if I utilized it well, it seemed like it would show just as much power. It was also a weapon that had already proven its effectiveness once.
“...”
Yeah, I owe a debt, too.
My deliberation wasn't long.
There wasn't much time. I immediately approached and picked up the large, glowing thing with both hands.
After shoving the invariably heavy body into a nearby Metal Box, I once again looked at the screen projecting from my Cyberwatch.
Amidst the ominous atmosphere, the Ronin, realizing that the Luddite gang intended to kill them all as well, were showing off their various implants and cyberware.
The Standoff continued for a moment before one Ronin stepped forward.
[My daughter was killed by you people. She wasn't even a robot. She was a person, a human, the very thing you cry out for so much.]
[An Inevitable Sacrifice is part of changing the World.]
As the Ronin dashed toward Ned Ludd, who replied apathetically, the flesh on both of his forearms tore open, and sharp metal blades popped out from inside, unfolding as they emerged.
He swung the mantis blades, which resembled the scythes of a praying mantis, along the trajectory of his arms.
Shwoooong─.
The sharp curve grazed Ned Ludd's head. It was an Uncommon Skill even at a glance.
The surrounding Luddite gang members stepped up to block him, but this time, the other Ronin interfered.
Throwing tables, swinging built-in whips, swinging knuckle-shaped fists...
Unable to receive the assistance of his subordinates, Ned Ludd was instantly put in danger.
There were several moments where he was almost sliced. Just when it seemed like he might actually be killed, he barely managed to stretch out both arms.
[Die...!]
As if countering that shout, he grabbed the Ronin's left arm with one hand and tightly gripped the blade on the right with the other.
Sparks flew as his palm, modified with Alloy Material, rubbed against the blade. They engaged in a test of strength with a Squeaking/Grinding Sound.
Just then, a flash of light burst from behind.
A Red Light shot out, and in the next moment, a small hole was pierced through Ned Ludd's shoulder.
The impact threw off his balance, and the blade came in, swiftly slicing off two of his electricity-spewing fingers.
Thud.
Even after losing his middle and ring fingers to the Mantis blade, Ned Ludd giggled without letting out a single scream.
[...I had completely forgotten. Right. We had our Young Lady. What were you doing that you are only stepping up now? Your subordinates are already all dead.]
From behind, Alexandra Amadeus Schneider, the blonde woman who had lost her bodyguards, was Aiming at him with trembling hands.
Her appearance looked incredibly precarious, as if she were standing at the Edge of a Cliff.