episode_0110

If he could control Rahye for three days, he might be able to present Rahye’s presence at tomorrow’s villain alliance meeting.

But what then? What should he do next?

He would have to release the 7th Squad members he had brainwashed, release Rahye, and moreover, his trump card, ‘brainwashing,’ would become widely known.

If that happened, there would be no hope anyway. No future would be left for 13’s organization.

The villain organization Abyss had a goal. A mission that must be accomplished, beyond simply preserving their lives.

And now that 13 had lost his power, the strength of the 7th Squad was absolutely necessary for that goal.

Rahye must have felt the same way. Even if she didn’t lay a hand on them, there were countless ways to deal with the 7th Squad and 13. As a woman who didn’t care about her reputation or status, she wouldn’t hesitate to use any means necessary.

So, there was no way for them to compromise.

It wasn’t a lenient situation where they could finish things amicably and lukewarmly.

Therefore.

No matter who lost, a decisive conclusion had to be reached between the two of them today.

* * *

“Ugh…!”

“13-nim, are you alright?”

Coco, who had helped 13 away from the spot, asked worriedly.

13’s face was pale, as if he lacked blood, and the upper part of one wrist was still severed. Furthermore, as he fled, one of his thighs had been pierced by Rahye’s ice stalactite.

Thanks to that, his head felt like it was sizzling from the pain.

“Coco, the gun…!”

13 took the gun from Coco, took a deep breath, and then shot himself in the neck.

For a moment, a gruesome sight unfolded, but then, with a grinding sound, the wound disappeared, and the missing body part returned.

Still covered in blood, 13 touched his neck and arm, checking his condition.

“Phew….”

His ‘Resurrection’ ability likely wasn’t known yet.

He had considered using his tattered body as bait to lure Rahye, but since things had turned out this way, he had no choice but to give up.

Because it was Rahye, after all. Even if she had pierced his heart with a sword, she probably wouldn’t let her guard down. It might be better to find another method than to act rashly.

“Are you going to run away, 13-nim?”

“……Well. I do want to run.”

13 pondered Coco’s words.

He could run. He could return to the hideout in an instant using the Strategist’s magic.

But he couldn’t. He had to settle things with Rahye today. Dorothy, the Boss, and even the Strategist had told him not to overdo it, but he had no choice.

That being said, simply clashing head-on wouldn’t solve everything.

Things in the world don’t work out with just grit.

So.

“Strategist. Since it’s come to this, please initiate the next plan.”

[Yes, 13-nim.]

A reply came from 13’s shadow.

It was the Strategist, who had been observing and monitoring the situation through the shadow all along.

* * *

Loud clanging sounds, destruction, and explosions echoed.

Blue and red magical energy clashed against a vast golden light. The different lights collided and separated multiple times, while ice pillars formed from magic, and walls and floors exploded, sending fragments flying.

Rahye was quite surprised.

It wasn’t that she was being pushed back by fighting the two of them.

Even if she faced all of the 7th Squad members simultaneously, no, even if three times that number attacked her at once, Rahye was confident she could calmly defeat them all.

What surprised her was that the two people fighting her were still holding on without collapsing.

More precisely, it was astounding that Spade was keeping up in this battle.

*Clang!*

“Ugh…!!”

“Spade!”

Again, a silver blade extended with the intent to neutralize Spade, only to be blocked by Spade’s dark tonfa.

Her stance had half-collapsed from the precarious block, but thanks to Check interfering and creating an opening, she managed to regain her posture and resume the battle.

Even when Rahye occasionally used feints to draw out Spade’s attacks, Spade would respond to some extent, though not perfectly, and with physical enhancements using magical energy, her strength and speed were keeping up without falling behind.

She had noticed Spade’s skill level had increased quite a bit in the training room not long ago, but she never imagined it would be to this extent.

Check’s growth was also visible to some extent, but as she was already nearly complete, her growth paled in comparison to Spade’s.

Normally, Rahye would have been incredibly happy and praised her. It was simply regrettable that she had to witness such growth in this kind of situation.

─……!

It was as the battle continued.

Rahye felt a strange sense of incongruity for a moment.

Even as she parried, deflected, or counterattacked against the storm-like barrage of combined attacks from Check and Spade, she clearly caught that faint sense of incongruity.

─Captain Rahye, ‘The universe is…

In an instant, Club’s voice, as if shouting right into her ear, was heard.

However, before the voice could properly continue, Rahye released her magical energy in a burst, along with a shout.

For a moment, a golden magical energy spread out, and a storm of cold air raged simultaneously.

And the voice that had been heard in Rahye’s ear was instantly erased.

She had repelled the ‘Sensory Sharing’ magic that Club had attempted, using her formidable magical energy.

Although it was a tactic that had been effective when facing Check before, it still didn’t work on Rahye.

Perhaps because Rahye had grown more wary and reinforced her magical energy, Club’s magical energy could no longer link to her, not even for a moment.

‘…Even if only for a moment, the fact that she could forcibly connect to me… Club has clearly grown, too.’

‘The same goes for Spade… It’s probably 13’s ability.’

Rapidly grown abilities. On top of that, traps that could potentially trigger ‘mind control,’ whose true nature was still unknown.

There was truly a lot to be concerned about. A normal hero wouldn’t have lasted even a moment.

But it was useless. It couldn’t possibly be useful.

Rahye was an outstanding warrior who had survived the heart of the Great Calamity, where various types of ability users and traps ran rampant.

There was no way a perfect being like her would have any weaknesses, and there was no way 13’s flimsy traps could ensnare her.

“…Now, it’s over for both of you.”

Even at this point, Rahye hadn’t used her full power yet.

She had been wondering if there was a way to save the two of them. She wanted to avoid severely harming them if possible, and just neutralize them moderately.

But she couldn’t continue like this. If she remained tied up fighting these two any longer, she would lose 13.

And most importantly, she thought that even if she used her full power against the two of them now… they probably wouldn’t die.

So.

“Huh……?”

“Spade…!”

Just as Rahye was gathering more magical energy to unleash her full power.

Suddenly, a change occurred in Spade and Check. It wasn’t a change caused by Rahye.

The two exchanged glances, then began to move differently than before.

Instead of facing Rahye, they created distance, moving in different directions.

Running…? No….

‘Are they luring me?’

Rahye pondered for a moment what she should do.

However, her contemplation didn’t last long, and Rahye immediately ran off, chasing the two of them and the fleeing 13.

* * *

“Alright, both of you. Lure Rahye like that. Get to the designated point as quickly as possible.”

Somewhere inside the abandoned factory. 13, who had escaped from Rahye and hidden himself in a room, issued instructions to Check and Spade while checking the ‘Sensory Sharing’ transmitted from Club and the footage from cameras installed throughout the factory.

This room had been converted into an air-raid shelter in case of emergencies, a shelter with walls about a meter thick. Moreover, the entrance had been hidden like an ordinary wall by Coco’s illusion, so it should be safe for now.

‘Still, since the opponent is Rahye, I can’t rest easy.’

He was afraid that Rahye could somehow break through even a bunker hundreds of meters underground.

So, he wanted to definitively end things before Rahye found this room, if possible.

“I should be grateful to Dorothy. I never thought her advice would actually be helpful.”

Dorothy had warned him. That 13’s thinking was too naive.

She said that since he was fundamentally an unlucky person, he should always assume the worst-case scenario and never neglect his preparations.

So, 13 had listened to Dorothy’s advice and, instead of simply relaxing, made various additional preparations.

Even when brainwashing Check and Coco, he didn’t just use the easy methods; he tried various different means.

Besides that, he practiced brainwashing not only when he was free, but also by reducing his sleeping and leisure time. He painstakingly memorized the brainwashing manual Dorothy had written for him, and moreover, he even performed risky experiments to see how far brainwashing could go.

Thanks to that, he had grown from a completely inexperienced brainwashing newbie to someone who could now be called a decent amateur. He thought so.

“A total of 23 emergency brainwashing switches implanted in Rahye, just in case.”

“Among these, 15 are currently viable… With these, I’ll stake my victory.”

He felt like his head was cramping from the screens simultaneously transmitted through Club’s magic and the tablet, but he concentrated to avoid even the slightest mistake.

From this point on, even a small mistake would lead to disaster. Thinking about it, he felt like it had always been that way….