Chapter 155
Over the next half day, the group traveled to a place beyond the former Shibuya Ward, moving faster than the Beastfangs, who were slowed by having to travel with the elderly and children. They were attacked by monsters several times along the way, but none posed the same danger as the Cannibals, and a few of the front-line fighters, along with Takako and Rex, took care of most of them.
By the time the clear blue sky had turned orange, with sunset still about an hour away, the group reached their destination—a place the Beastfangs were expected to pass through.
“We’re here! Everyone, get ready!”
They had arrived at a river that people from Earth called the Old Tama River. It was too narrow to be called a great river, yet too deep and fast-flowing to cross directly.
A group of young Beastfangs could cross it without trouble, but among them were elderly members whose legs had grown weak and young children who weren’t strong yet. Since the Beastfangs fleeing their homeland were traveling with people they wouldn’t normally bring along, Balmung had guessed that, given their direction, they would inevitably pass through a spot with a bridge.
“Just as planned, we got ahead of the Beastfangs... This is where the real battle begins.”
As Balmung spoke, the air around him grew tense.
There had once been stone bridges at many points, not just around here, but nearly all of them had collapsed in a war long ago. That meant they could cross a stone bridge only here or at another distant location. Considering the direction the Beastfangs were heading, Balmung had concluded they had no choice but to come this way.
“What are they... setting up?”
Alice wondered as she watched the Resistance members split into two groups, above and below the bridge, and busily set traps just before the Beastfangs would finish crossing.
“The explosives on the bridge will send them plunging into the river when we detonate them as they cross. We’ve set up an electromagnetic net in the water that’ll paralyze them temporarily so they can’t move. The moment they fall for the trap, those of us in the rear guard will attack all at once. The traps at the far end are there to make it easier for us waiting below to escape toward the underground facility if something goes wrong.”
Merry came up beside Alice, holding the long rifle she’d been carrying on her back rather than the small gun at her waist, and explained.
“They’re usually so cautious that they can prevent trouble before it starts, but they’re bad at dealing with sudden accidents once their guard’s been bypassed. If we can lure them into the trap... we should be able to take them out easily.”
“Will we really be able to get past their guard with this plan?”
There were dozens of Resistance members here, even counting Takako’s group. Judging by what they’d heard about the Beastfangs’ abilities, Kururu worried that there was no way they could hide a group that large.
“It’s true that they use all five senses to pinpoint where their opponents are, which makes them a pain to deal with when we’re the ones attacking. But it’s a different story if we don’t have to move.”
“Why is that?”
When Alice and Kururu tilted their heads in unison, Yuki said, “Here, here,” from behind them and held up a spherical Digger for them to see.
“See? There was a barrier at the place where the Cannibals attacked us, one you couldn’t see from the outside, right? This is a portable Digger that creates it. If we set it up beneath the bridge and wait, they won’t be able to see us at all. The river will mask our scent, and then all we have to do is hold our breath and stay quiet. To check whether the Beastfangs have crossed the bridge, we’ll use this Digger called a camera to show the image on this Digger called a monitor!”
Yuki’s eyes sparkled as they showed the Diggers in both hands to Alice and Kururu. Overwhelmed as Yuki leaned in close and enthusiastically pitched the Diggers’ merits, the two managed a half-hearted, “Uh, wow.” But then Yuki launched into an explanation of how they worked, leaving Alice and Kururu staring blankly.
“Hey, Digger geek, we’re short on time. Skip the lecture and check the magic guns. Make sure you don’t miss your shots if anything goes wrong.”
“Oh... right, sorry, sorry. Then let me look after your precious keepsake.”
At the word “keepsake,” Kururu’s expression turned sorrowful, as if she’d realized something. Her gaze shifted to Parna, who was helping set traps a little way off among Takako and the others.
Merry had said she was fourteen this year. And yet the Resistance members treated her as if she’d been fighting for a very long time. Kururu felt she understood why.
“What’s with that gloomy face? Don’t tell me you’ve lost your nerve?”
“Merry-chan, are you... not scared?”
“Huh? You really have lost your nerve? ...And don’t call me -chan! Of course I’m not scared at this point... How many years do you think I’ve been fighting?”
Merry answered as if exasperated, then took a small magic gun from her waist and began tending to it, just as Yuki was doing.
“Oh, you can do that yourself? That’s amazing, Merry-san. You can fight, and you can do that kind of thing, too!”
Alice asked, peering at the gun with curiosity. Merry’s cheeks reddened slightly with embarrassment, and she looked away.
“I can at least maintain my own weapon. I can handle the long guns I leave to Yuki, too, but... they’re more reliable and faster when Yuki does it.”
As Merry said, “See for yourself,” and pointed at Yuki, the gun had already been disassembled into its component parts for inspection, even though Yuki had only just started.
“I said I wasn’t scared, but if an enemy gets close, of course I’m scared. When guys like the Cannibals show up, I can’t help panicking. ...So? What about it?”
“You’re from Earth, Merry-chan. So... I was wondering why you decided to fight.”
“Isn’t that obvious?”
With that, Merry slid the small magic gun she’d just finished inspecting with a click. Her eyes sharpened as she fixed a piercing stare on the muzzle—
“Nothing will ever change if we stay cooped up in that boring, cramped underground. There’s so much I want to do once we take back the world. But right now, fighting is the only way forward... So I won’t be afraid. Before an enemy can get close enough to scare me, I’ll shoot them down. I’ll kill them. No exceptions.”
Kururu flinched at the murderous intensity in Merry’s gaze, which seemed far beyond what one would expect from a fourteen-year-old. Seeing Merry show no sign of unease just before the battle began, Kururu instinctively felt that she must have taken many lives with her own hands.
But it wasn’t the kind of fire that burned with vengeance, like Parna’s. It was more like the fierce resolve of a warrior charging straight toward a single goal. Kururu reconsidered: Merry’s past must be more complicated than she’d thought.
“There you go, Merry-chan! All done!”
Just as Merry tucked the small magic gun into the holster at her waist, Yuki tossed her the magic gun Merry had handed over.
“As expected, you’re fast.”
Merry caught the magic gun one-handed and, apparently trusting Yuki, put it back on her back without checking it.
“Well, we don’t have much time, and it looks like the traps are all set.”
Yuki jerked a thumb toward the people who had been setting the traps. Following the gesture, Merry saw the Resistance members and Takako’s group, finished with the setup and filing toward their waiting positions.
Along the way, Menou and Parna spotted Alice and the others and hurried over, looking tired after finishing their task.
“Good work, Menou and Parna-san!” Alice welcomed them with a beaming smile.
“We finished faster than I expected. Everyone was so efficient, and even Menou was unusually eager to help.”
“If there is something I can do, then of course I should help. Things are different here than in Earthclear... I’ll do whatever I can to survive.”
Menou folded her arms and sighed as if it were only natural. Seeing her, Alice gave a faint, sorrowful smile and murmured again, “...Thank you for your hard work.”
As planned, everyone gathered in one spot beneath the stone bridge where the Beastfangs would begin crossing. They activated the stealth-camouflage barrier around them, held their breath, and waited for the Beastfangs to arrive.
“...They’re here.”
An hour after they began waiting, the clear sky suddenly clouded over and rain poured down. At the same time, a group of Beastfangs appeared exactly as they’d hoped, as if they had come along with the rain clouds.