We sneak into the school by the sea and walk side by side with Nayuta.
Only the sound of footsteps echoed in the linoleum-floored corridor. Silence filled the air.
Nayuta told me that Denji's body is on an upper floor. Veronica is definitely somewhere around there.
I listen carefully, trying to sense any presence, and check my surroundings.
The ceiling—the guide lights for the passageway—are on.
On the wall, the fire alarm light glows faintly red.
In other words, this school has working electricity.
I briefly considered turning on the hallway light, but decided against it. There was no need to deliberately let them know where I was.
Nayuta stopped dead in her tracks.
"All the windows are open."
"That's definitely a countermeasure against me."
"countermeasure?"
I'll explain it briefly.
For example, let's say you have one firecracker.
If it exploded in the palm of your hand, you'd only end up with burnt skin.
But if it explodes in your clenched hand, your fingers will be blown off.
The damage caused by explosives varies greatly depending on how well they are sealed.
"...So, is this preparation for a battle?"
"Yeah, I think all the windows in this school are open."
"Oh, really?"
Nayuta peered into the back of the classroom as she walked. All the windows there were open as well.
"You opened them all? That must have been a lot of work."
"Did you think it was a steady, painstaking process?"
"Yeah"
"That's just how it is. When you hear 'spy' or 'assassin,' you might have a flashy image, but in the end, it's just a job."
"As a former colleague, can you predict this?"
"To some extent. ...As a scissor demon, I'd like to engage in close combat, but in a confined space, I'd be instantly burnt to a crisp before I could even touch them, so I'd prefer to launch a surprise attack in a relatively open area...that's about it."
"in particular?"
"A place with high ceilings where it's easy to hide... like a staircase?"
They both stopped walking abruptly.
About five or six meters ahead, there was a bend in the road that led to a staircase.
"It's hard to see. It's easy to hide."
The corner, the landing halfway up the stairs, and beyond that—these are all fairly spacious areas, and they also offer a series of blind spots.
I popped my head in.
There was no one there.
"We're still on the first floor. Denji's on the third floor, right?"
"Yeah"
I slowly placed my foot on the stairs.
Don't rush. Don't panic. We have the advantage.
—Just before stepping inside the school, I spotted a large white van in front of the school's main entrance.
This is the car Veronica used to escape.
When I peered inside, I saw a horrific scene of countless corpses trapped within.
Boys and girls, about 12 or 13 years old, were found dead, covered in blood.
One boy was riddled with bullet holes, two girls were dismembered, and in the driver's seat lay the body of a boy with his throat slit open. There were also bullet holes all over the car.
I quickly understood the situation.
They must have had a falling out.
The boys and girls were the ones who made the first move. Just before being shot, Veronica pulled a nearby boy towards her to use as a shield, weathering the volley of fire. She then threw the human shield at one of the shooters to block the line of fire, slashing another girl, and then cutting down the remaining one with her sword.
It probably didn't even take five seconds.
The boy in the driver's seat may not have even realized that Veronica had survived.
I don't know the reason for the falling out, and I don't care.
The important point is that Veronica has no allies right now.
There is only one enemy.
This is a huge advantage.
"Nayuta-chan"
"what?"
"If we encounter Veronica, I'll distract her. Nayuta, you revive Denji."
If I draw the starter card and revive Chainsaw Man, it will be 2 against 1. No matter what tricks they have up their sleeve, I won't lose.
Furthermore, we also had a time advantage.
We've contacted the public security authorities about this location. Just buying some time will allow us to expect reinforcements. All we have to do is make sure Veronica doesn't escape.
I take the final step on the stairs.
I reached the second floor.
Looking up through the gaps in the atrium, I saw that barricades had been erected leading to the third floor. Countless desks and chairs were piled up in a tangled mess.
To pass through, we would either have to take our time to remove it, or blow it up. Both options are dangerous.
Should I take a detour and use another staircase?
School staircases are usually located at both ends of a corridor. If you go to the other side—
Then, Veronica's voice echoed from the hallway on the second floor.
"—I thought I hadn't heard the answer."
"...?"
Something's strange.
While holding Nayuta back with one hand, I cautiously surveyed the corridor.
Veronica is nowhere to be seen.
It's hiding somewhere in the row of classrooms.
"How's Japan? Is it fun? It's the same here as always. Idiots are educating other idiots, so there are only idiots. On top of that, there's no pay and no holidays. What do you call this kind of thing in Japan? Exploitation of passion?"
Even searching from the hallway, I couldn't sense any signs of life moving.
I stood with my back to the stairs, ready for battle, and silently sent a hand signal to Nayuta.
—Leave this to me. Go on ahead.
There were two routes.
The first route involves going down to the lower floor, walking back down the corridor, and then going up the stairs on the opposite side.
This is too much of a detour and takes us too close to Veronica. If the stairs on the other side are also blocked by barricades, we'll be trapped and easily caught by Veronica.
The second route involves using the elevator located at the dead end of the corridor opposite the classroom where Veronica is.
This won't take much time. Even if Veronica tries to sense Nayuta's movements, I can block her path by acting as a shield, preventing her from pursuing us.
Send instructions to Nayuta.
--Use the elevator.
"Hey, this is probably our last chance, right? Let's reminisce. Remember her? 'Serious' Anastasia. She was damn strong, wasn't she? In the end, we could never beat her. If there was a killing competition at the Olympics, I think she would have won tons of gold medals."
I am confident about the location of my vocalization.
I'm standing by the door of the second classroom from the front.
...Should I fire a shot as a warning?
I put my fingers together and pointed them towards my hiding place. All I had to do was make a sound to release the explosive particles, but...something felt off.
Veronica's voice. The way it echoes is somehow strange.
Nayuta stood in front of the elevator and pressed the button.
The door opened immediately.
"Looking back, maybe that 'liar' Polina did something wrong. I might have been jealous because her deception skills were just too good. If she had just been a spy, she could have been top-notch. Don't you think so too?"
Veronica hasn't come out of the classroom.
They continue to make noise from the doorway.
Something is definitely wrong.
Nayuta got into the elevator.
Veronica must have realized it too. If things continued as they were, Chainsaw Man could be revived, yet she still hasn't shown up.
Why?
The flat voice continues. The way it echoes lacks depth. They're talking endlessly in the same spot, without showing their face.
Could it be that—
A recorded voice?
If that's the case, where is he/she?
I felt a shiver, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.
A sudden recap.
The elevator doors that Nayuta was in were slowly beginning to close.
If it were up to me, I would first eliminate the isolated and vulnerable.
I ran with all my might. The recoil from the explosion accelerated me rapidly, and I twisted my body into the gap in the door, enduring a strain that could have shifted my brain to one side. I slammed into the wall inside the elevator, confirming that Nayuta's eyes were wide open, but I decided to ignore the numbness running through my entire body.
That's not the point.
Pikiri
I looked up at the ceiling with certainty and saw a crack.
Five straight lines cut through the fragments, causing them to scatter and fall, and in the darkness beyond, a girl with a distinctive hairstyle had her eyes shining.
The Scissors Demon.
A Soviet assassin.
A rival who once competed for Bom's heart.
Veronica, the girl who encompassed all of these things, leaped down into the hole she had created herself. She landed with her limbs spread wide like a spider. She had a truly joyful smile on her face.
"Heehee"
At that moment, I understood.
The reason she is here.
Veronica definitely said this.
Let's reminisce.
I've staked my entire life up to this point, pouring everything into murderous intent, creating the perfect situation to convey everything—impulses, duties, sense of obligation, determination, beliefs, and feelings for each other. So let's do it. With the one clever method left to us, who can't trust words—
The dimensions inside the elevator are approximately 1 meter wide x 1.5 meters deep x a little over 2 meters high.
The door is already closed. It's an extremely sealed space that you can reach out and touch.
If we use the power of bombs, we can definitely win.
But if I do it, Hayakawa Nayuta, who is right behind me, will turn into charred minced meat.
Veronica's eyes seemed to say, "Do it if you want to."
If I can know that it's a choice you made in your life, I don't care what the outcome is.
A slithering, invisible, soft-bodied creature seems to crawl through the air, and a strange, eerie energy drifts from the air.
With killing techniques honed over half a lifetime and the demonic power embedded within them, the weaponized human and the demon glared at each other head-on at close range where every shot would hit its target.
I had a strange feeling.
There is no hatred, and no aversion.
Both towards Veronica and towards myself.
"It's going down..."
That was all I could manage to say.
He delivered a straight punch without any warning.
He dodges the attack and retaliates with a body blow, which he receives with his left hand, then kicks away the fingertips that reach out to touch him.
As Veronica recoiled, he followed up with a right-handed thrust, stabbing it into the gap between her ribs and breaking them.
His arm was slashed open, and blood gushed from his artery.
I pierce her vulnerable eyelids with my fingertips.
Confirming that the enemy's toes were firmly planted and their center of gravity was facing Nayuta, take one step forward.
But the feint resulted in a chop to the collarbone, making an unpleasant sound.
Step on their toes to prevent them from dodging, then deliver a blow.
Unable to avoid the counterattack,
Nevertheless,
Torn apart,
He slammed his elbow down,
His stomach was crushed,
We also crushed them,
He put his knee in,
He slammed it with his forehead,
Torn apart,
Fold your fingers,
His fingers were cut off.
He sacrificed his right arm.
Torn apart,
It was both a question and an answer.
It was a mix of boasting, self-deprecation, updates on current events, and reminiscing.
Veronica began by asking:
—Do you really want to protect demons?
I replied:
—I want to protect it more than the width of a single collarbone.
I'll expose my shameless platitudes and the true feelings I've been suppressing.
—Even if you fail, you won't be executed in Japan, right?
—I feel more inclined to help than to fulfill my mission.
—So you're serious.
—That's how I decided to live.
—I see. Well, then it's my turn. Here, I'll use my cutting ability to force the enemy to make a choice.
--That's incredibly troublesome.
—Right? I trained really hard. Take a look at me more.
--Don't get carried away.
—Tch, you're still good at finding openings. But what about me?
--That sounds fun.
--Really? Well, it's been a while since I've met someone I can talk to, and I'm happy to see you too.
The match was decided in 60 seconds.
"—It was... a good... night..."
Veronica was somehow still standing, spitting up blood.
One eye is gone, and it looks down at me, supported by a broken bone.
There is no hatred, nor any aversion.
I--
He was lying on the floor, a trail of bloodstains dragging along the elevator wall.
I can't stand up.
It was an expected outcome.
No matter how skilled a weaponized human may be, there's no way they could defeat a demon using its full powers with just their bare hands. And that's especially true when the fight is at inescapable close range, with someone to protect behind them.
but.
I felt somewhat cheerful.
I was able to prove everything to the only person who knew my life up to that point.
I'm sure they feel pretty much the same way.
"That guy..."
Life force was flowing out of my body in a thick, viscous way.
I can't believe they went to such lengths to set up this place just for such a pointless, frank talk. I tried to force a wry smile, but I'm sure it wouldn't get through to Bomb Girl's metallic hair. That's the only thing that's a little frustrating.
Veronica took a flask of blood from her pocket and poured it over her head, letting it soak into her wounds and injured areas. She then took another flask and gulped it down, making a gulping sound. She was slowly recovering.
I think this little reunion between just the two of us will end when I've fully recovered.
"There's just one thing... I want to ask you."
I wonder what it is.
What more do you want me to say?
"My path probably ends here. What about yours?"
...road?
Perhaps it's about the future.
I kind of understood what she was trying to say.
Veronica followed the warrior's path. I strayed from that track. I think she wants to know what awaits me in that strayed future.
But even I don't know the answer to that.
"I, I, I don't know..."
My throat hurts. Blood is gushing out as I speak.
"Gah... I'm still... in the middle of... searching..."
"I see. I wanted to know what the world of lies was like. Just a little bit."
Her ragged breathing is starting to subside.
I thought to myself, "Is it already over?" as if it were someone else's problem.
"Well, it's about time to get to work."
The elevator is cramped. The doors are still closed and won't open unless a button is pressed. Veronica stands in front of them, gradually recovering her physical abilities.
I can't move a single finger.
Nayuta was never a viable option to begin with.
"You can't change reality with pretty words. In the end, the strongest rule in this world is the law of physics. You knew this would happen, didn't you?"
Veronica said that she could have won if she had used Bomb's power.
If he had sacrificed Hayakawa Nayuta, he could have defeated her. At the very least, he could have gotten Hayakawa Denji back. He himself could have avoided death. He shouldn't have tried to chase two rabbits and lost everything. I you
"...Maybe so."
I think that's probably correct.
It's not that I'm thinking like a ruthless agent. Even by common sense standards, it's absurd to lose everything just to save one demon.
But.
Well, what can you do? You've been won over.
I never want to ruin that beautiful idea of working hard for someone else again.
"--"
Nayuta stirred right beside me.
I can no longer protect her.
My mind isn't working properly.
All I can do is feel my blood being drained away.
As I gazed at Nayuta's toes in a state of rapture, she suddenly said this.
"Good evening, Veronica."
His voice was flat.
Amidst the suffocating stench of blood, Nayuta spoke in a calm, detached voice.
"You want to know where the guinea pig ends up, right?"
"ah...?"
"There's no such place. And it's not just guinea pigs. It's the same for ordinary people. You just have to create your own place and feel like you've found it. You humans believe in things that don't exist, rely on them, and get tossed around by them... You live in a world of lies and illusions, so to speak."
Nayuta...? What are you talking about?
She was unusually talkative, which was different from the image I had of her. I thought she was the kind of person who only asserted what was in her own best interest and never sought empathy.
And I would never, ever do anything that involves risk.
But why?
You'll die, you know?
With just one swing, if Veronica decides to do it, your head will be chopped off.
She couldn't possibly not understand, yet she still points her finger and provokes me.
"A pitiful woman"
No way, right?
Is that even possible?
"You just want to confirm your own existence. Reze is nothing more than an excuse."
But we just met a few days ago. I'm practically your rival in love.
Why are you trying to protect me?
"There was no need to be photographed. A professional agent should have handled the matter discreetly. Besides, attacking Denji in the middle of the street was a clumsy move. There was no need to blow up the apartment building. With your skills, it should have been easy for you to dispose of me secretly."
Suspicion turns into certainty.
Nayuta is clearly trying to provoke hostility toward herself.
"Did you do that to spite Reze? If so, you could have killed some public security officials and lined them up. If you had publicized how brutal Soviet agents are, it would have put Reze in a difficult position. But you didn't do that. You deliberately set this up just to show off to Reze."
That's enough.
If you say that much, Veronica will decide.
If her one and only pride were to be tarnished, she would surely not be able to accept it.
"The reason you did that was to gain the approval of the only person you ever acknowledged."
...I said it.
Veronica's eyes were chillingly cold.
Already. The Soviet warriors, having already been conditioned, had made up their minds.
There is no mercy, and no compassion has vanished.
The following remark was the deciding factor.
"A tactic used by children who like to brag about how amazing they are."
Click.
I definitely heard the sound of Veronica's switch being flipped.
"Heh, hehehe"
The scissor genie was chuckling and shaking his shoulders.
His eyes showed no sign of smiling, and his mouth remained perfectly straight.
"The reason I'm keeping you alive is... out of respect for Reze for sticking to her beliefs... but, well, never mind. I won't deny it. I was once human, after all. I'll admit I had some childish moments. But..."
Covered in blood from head to toe, with blood dripping from the tips of her hair, Veronica slowly moved her lips.
"You brat. You devil. Acting all high and mighty. Let's see how far you can go. I'm good at resuscitation. I managed to do it three times when I was an American journalist. All that talk about social justice and human rights fell apart the first time. Stop it, I uncovered all this for you! Ha, I don't know anything about that."
"You should have believed in him."
Nayuta might be insane. She seemed so calm and composed, as if she didn't know anything about hearts or emotions, that I even felt at the time that she might just be a demon.
"Let me teach you a fundamental principle of human society: 'If you do good things, good things will come back to you.' Remember that."
Veronica sneers.
"What is that? I thought you were going to say something like that, but it's just some flawed logic you use when teaching morals to kids! And of all people, it's the devil who says it!"
"That's right. It's nonsense, nobody can guarantee anything, and it might just be a deceptive lie adorned to keep society running smoothly. But humans live within that noble lie... You couldn't adapt to it."
Veronica fell silent.
It wasn't because I hit the nail on the head.
Because I thought, "That's enough."
I stopped the questioning. Words were unnecessary. Actions alone were the means to demonstrate sincerity.
Veronica sighed deeply.
I was about to take a step forward—but stopped.
"Denji gave you flowers. That was a nice thing to do."
I twitched my ears.
I noticed it too.
I can hear something.
The elevator is closed, and a vibrating sound is getting closer from the other side.
"But you killed Denji. You repaid him with evil."
The elevator car is shaking.
A pulsating, vibrating sound roared as it reached the elevator.
Nayuta pronounces the judgment.
"Those who do such things will not be able to function in human society."
Vvvvvv
"It's considered permissible to kill."
The moment Veronica turned around in a flash.
Sparks flew from the elevator door.
Three points simultaneously. A metallic scream so loud you'd want to cover your ears overlapped, and a rotating, devilish blade shot out from the crack. The electric saw quickly sliced through the door.
The devil whispers.
"Time-wasting is over."
At the same time, the sealed space of death was pried open.
"W-What?! How... how did he revive?!"
"Crow"
Nayuta answers succinctly.
"Opening the window was a mistake."
"Damn it"
The vibrations are hitting the air.
The devil's pulse is pouring gasoline into his veins.
In the middle of the moonlit corridor stood a boy with a weapon protruding from between his eyebrows.
"—I was attacked again by a woman I'd just met, and I thought about it really carefully..."
Who was standing there?
A weaponized human with chainsaws growing from both arms that slice through flesh and blood. A hero from hell who has slain countless demons.
Chainsaw Man roared.
"A woman who's kind to me... maybe she doesn't actually exist anywhere?!"
The sheer determination, not mere intimidation, sent shivers down Veronica's spine, and she regained her composure.
"An amateur"
I understand the meaning of the tweet very well.
It doesn't matter how fast Chainsaw Man is; an amateur who relies on physical ability can be dealt with if they know he's coming at them head-on.
That must have been what he thought.
Indeed, Veronica is a professional. Even Chainsaw Man can't match her skills in killing people.
However, if we're talking about fighting to the death in uncharted territory of demons where technique and psychological warfare are useless—then Chainsaw Man is overwhelmingly superior.
"If I create a company full of only women, what will become of me?!"
I think Chainsaw Man came charging in.
I couldn't see it.
Veronica probably couldn't see it either.
"Agh!? Ah, aaaah!?"
Blood splattered like a fountain.
Clutching her gaping side, Veronica turned around, her upper body swaying.
Denji was already inside the elevator. He had leaned his arms against the wall, still moving with the momentum of his charge, and was peering down at me, who was leaning against it.
"Hey! Denji's back! But he's really badly injured!? Are you okay?!"
"Ah, ah, yes..."
"Whaaaat, what's going on here!? Oh no, Reze's going to die!"
"Denji. Blood, blood."
"Oh, that's it! I'll just make them drink my blood!"
Veronica's murderous intent emanates from behind.
"Hayakawa Denjiiiiiii!!"
Rotation.
For a moment, Chainsaw Man's outline blurs.
A straight line diagonally.
The scissor demon's chest ripped open, smashing through the elevator wall.
"Agh, ah, ah...!? Wh, agh... stupid, how...!"
Veronica stumbles and clutches her wound, but the bleeding doesn't stop easily.
Chainsaw Man shakes the blood off the weapon.
"I don't know why you want to kill us, but... I'm the CEO! I don't kill women! Arrest yourself!"
"Y-you...!"
Blood continues to ooze uncontrollably from between Veronica's fingers as she tries to hold it down.
"Y-you're cutting me, aren't you?!"
"If it's just the tip, it doesn't count, right?!"
"You're kidding me... ugh"
She knelt down, gasping for breath.
All I could do was look up at Chainsaw Man with a look of utter astonishment on my face.
Just two slashes inflicted a fatal wound.
The supposedly highly trained scissor demon was easily overpowered. The fact that she was repelled without even being able to react inflicted serious damage on Veronica's body and mind.
"Th-this, this kind of thing...how can this be happening...!"
Veronica, summoning her warrior's spirit, is beginning to rise again.
However, Nayuta was merciless and merciless,
"That's just your empty platitude."
An invisible torrent swirled within his eyes, and his gaze pierced his adversaries with a sharper gaze than an arrowhead.
"I thought that since I've always rejected comforting illusions, there's no way I could lose to those escapists who are immersed in the comfort of lies. But in reality, that's exactly what's happening."So(・)cormorant(・)
To confront.
A deep, gaping wound.
"You can't change reality with pretty words. The strongest rule in this world is the law of physics."
The fact that he had been killed was the most significant thing of all.
Even with determination, conviction, and desperate effort, sometimes you just lose.
He seems to lack determination, conviction, and effort, and is easily defeated by a softie who tries to comfort a woman faking tears by giving her flowers, all with just two swings of his sword.
That was the reality.
"Heh heh heh... Me? Me? You believed a lie...? That's so funny, it's making me laugh..."
My feet stumbled, and I took one step, then two, back.
He coughed up blood with a gurgling sound.
He should have been on the verge of death.
A human being wouldn't be able to move. She was so badly injured that she would die even if she didn't move, yet she kept moving, and the bleeding wouldn't stop. Splashing splatter everywhere, she exposed her back, and finally her soft organs spilled out of her stomach, but even then, Veronica was running away at the speed of a crawling baby, stumbling as she went.
"Th-then..."
He muttered delirious words, as if possessed by something.
"I...I mean, from the very beginning..."
"--"
I think I'm probably the only one who can understand.
Drink blood to repair.
Enduring the pain, I stand up.
I held back Nayuta and Denji.
Wait a moment, I said.
Looking back, this might be the first time I've ever made such a heartfelt request to someone.
"I'll make them take responsibility. Don't interfere."