Ch. 5 Kivotos’ Friendly Neighbor
by AfuhfuihgsChapter 5 – Kivotos’ Friendly Neighbor
“Ugh, seriously! What the hell is going on?!”
“Exactly. For Sanctum Tower to suddenly shut down….”
“Hah, nothing’s been going according to plan lately! The president suddenly went off the grid, and that annoying junior is nowhere to be found!”
Hayase Yuuka, the treasurer of Millennium Academy’s student council, known as Seminar, vented her frustrations to her friend, Ushio Noa, while dealing with the growing pile of work.
Normally, Noa would have just laughed it off with a relaxed expression. But even she understood the seriousness of the current situation, her face showing signs of exhaustion as she responded.
“Where could those two have gone?”
Yuuka and Noa sighed deeply as they thought about the two people who should have been here.
At some point, their student council president, Rio, started acting like her mind was somewhere else. No matter how many times they asked, she wouldn’t explain what was going on.
Then there was Koyuki, the junior Yuuka had recruited. She had always been an eccentric, full of bizarre ideas, so her suddenly going missing wasn’t entirely unexpected. But given Kivotos’ current state, it was impossible not to be worried.
Because of all this, the Seminar office was constantly filled with the white noise of news broadcasts relaying updates from Millennium’s autonomous district, the D.U. Central District, and other regions.
[We’re now connecting to a reporter on-site. Reporter Sinon?]
[Yes! This is the D.U. Central District. Right now, the district is in chaos due to the shutdown of Sanctum Tower, leading to ongoing riots!]
[We’ve received reports that Kaiser Corporation’s forces have ignored the district’s autonomous laws and are using unauthorized force against both local residents and criminals. Can you confirm this?]
“……This is seriously apocalyptic.”
“Kaiser Corporation… It was supposed to be a major corporation operating in various fields, right? I’ve heard rumors that they’re not exactly clean.”
“They’re a company that crosses the line between legal and illegal whenever it suits them. If it’s in their interest, they’ll suck anyone dry to the bone.”
Yuuka immediately took her hands off the keyboard and cursed the moment she heard the news.
As a member of Millennium’s student council, she knew firsthand how many heinous and despicable acts Kaiser Corporation had committed. Noa didn’t refute her friend’s judgment. In fact, deep down, she thought even worse of them.
The fact that a private corporation was openly terrorizing an autonomous district—especially in the heart of Kivotos, which was under the jurisdiction of the General Student Council—was beyond shocking.
Even though Kronos News wasn’t the most trustworthy outlet due to its reporter’s… questionable conduct, Sinon’s way of speaking had a way of drawing people in.
[Ahhh! Right now, soldiers marked with the Kaiser PMC insignia have opened fire and are beginning full-scale suppression!]
“Those lunatics! A private company is pulling this crap…!”
“…This is something they wouldn’t have even attempted before.”
Explosions. Screams. Threats.
Kaiser’s forces didn’t just target the criminals causing the riots—they designated any civilian who defied their orders as a threat, ruthlessly suppressing them with extreme force.
Just as Yuuka and Noa were about to unleash another wave of outrage—
[Huh? Wh-What is that?!]
“…What the hell is that?”
“Where did it come from? The sky?”
A bizarre scene appeared on the news broadcast, leaving both the reporter and the two watching in confusion.
“A mask? Who is that guy?”
And then—
BOOOOOOM!
The moment an unknown figure in a mask shattered an approaching automaton soldier with a single punch, their voice echoed through the news broadcast.
[I have come to punish evil.]
[To those who bring chaos to the city, I bring judgment.]
And then—
The scene that followed would be forever burned into the memories of everyone watching.
A Hero.
The moment Kivotos’ Friendly Neighbor made their debut.
***
[Ingrain fear into the hearts of the Central District.]
That was the directive issued by the President of Kaiser Corporation to the PMC forces before this operation.
He claimed that this was just the foundation for the corporate city he sought to create.
Instilling fear in the populace would make it easier to subjugate the city once they seized control. So the PMC soldiers carried out their orders with extreme aggression, using riot suppression as an excuse to showcase their power.
They didn’t distinguish between criminals, civilians, or students.
Against a group armed with firearms and heavy weapons, ordinary citizens had no chance to resist. They could only collapse and be trampled underfoot.
“W-What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”
…Of course, there were always those few weeds who didn’t know their place and tried to stand up to them.
“Are you refusing to comply?”
“Refusing?! This isn’t order—it’s violence! The District isn’t yours to—”
SMACK!
“GAAAH!”
“Refusal to comply and inciting disorder. You will be subdued as a primary instigator.”
“T-That’s nonsense… Aghhh!”
“Shut up. Unless you want to get hurt more.”
See?
No matter how defiant they were, a little force was all it took to break them. It was proof that resistance was futile.
“Truly, only the President is fit to rule this city—”
Just as the PMC soldier was about to praise their great leader—
FWIP!
A strange white substance—no, a web—suddenly shot out from somewhere, wrapping around his leg and stopping him in his tracks.
Then, another strand of white goo shot toward his gun, yanking it away before he could even react.
“What the—?!”
And then—
“What’s going on?!”
“Who’s there?!”
“My gun—!”
A figure swung through the sky, clinging to the white strands, rapidly snatching weapons away from the PMC soldiers one by one.
As the soldiers turned their panicked gazes toward the culprit—
THUD!
The masked figure gracefully landed atop a Kaiser military truck.
One knee on the ground, one hand pressing against it, the other arm raised to the side.
“Superhero landing.”
A pose that would later become the masked girl’s trademark. Faced with this overwhelming presence, everyone was left speechless.
The first soldier to have his weapon stolen finally managed to find his voice.
“Who the hell are you?! Do you know who you’re messing with—?!”
“Shut up.”
FWIP!
Before he could finish his sentence, another web shot out, binding him completely.
The masked girl spoke again.
“Civilians, please leave. I’ll handle this.”
“Like hell you will—!”
Before he could finish his sentence—
BOOOOOM—!!
A single punch. That was all it took.
The soldier’s mechanical body shuddered, leaking oil as his systems shut down.
Silence.
“N-Not possible…”
As the soldiers stared in disbelief, the masked girl casually wiped the oil from her hands and looked at them.
And then—
“Next.”
It was a declaration. Alone, she was challenging Kaiser Corporation.
And so, the nightmare for Kaiser PMC began.
KatTL
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