2-16: He Who Stands in Front (3/5)

2-16: He Who Stands in Front (3/5)

Found you.

Shinichi avoided his childhood friends awkward smile as he searched the outerwear he took from Mitsuda.

In truth, this was his purpose right from the start. That excessive violence from earlier was really just because he wanted to give Mitsuda a good beating.

Shinichi threw the foster to the girl as soon as he found it.

Use that and get everyone out of here.

That was all that Shinichi said before turning to the yet petrified men and glaring at them.

Shinichi moved a little and seemed to be protecting the confused criminals too on top of the hostages.

The girl looked alternatingly between Shinichis back and her terminal as she operated it.

Huh? What about you!? And are you saying to take these people too!?

The girl did as Shinichi instructed, but Daigo couldnt just follow Shinichis instructions.

It was impossible for him to leave his childhood friend in a situation like this.

Whats more is that he couldnt find it in himself to forgive the criminals who had broken down crying after everything theyve done to his childhood friend.

Perhaps they would no longer work with the remaining three or four people anymore, but they were still originally in cahoots with the criminals, so they should just be left alone.

Shinichi could tell what Daigo was thinking from the tone of his voice, but he spoke as if none of these concerned him.

Those guys were just used by those men.

Regardless of the time or place, there are always people unhappy with society.

Of course, these criminals still deserve to be punish, but theres no need for them to die here, Shinichi said.

Used? Daigo asked.

Those guys arent really terrorists.

Theyre either some underlings of a criminal organization or just all-rounders that were overly influenced by mercs.

The contents of their work aside, they were probably gathered just to cause a commotion.

Am I right? Shinichi said.

You!? When the ringleader finally woke up from his stupor and cried out, the people that broke down finally regained their senses.

The ringleader neither confirmed nor denied Shinichis words. He just glared at him bitterly.

But that was enough to prove Shinichis words correct.

H-Huh? What does that mean? Daigo asked.

So thats how it is, the Garestonian girl said.

Ask her for the details.

We dont have the time to talk leisurely here. Go. Are you okay? Shinichi said.

After hearing the girls words of affirmation, Shinichi urged his friend to go, then he asked one last time if the girl was alright.

The girl nodded strongly in affirmation.

Yes. Ive turned off all the traps set up in this building, the girl said.

What!? Someone cried out.

This was the true form of these beast-type drones that were distributed for military use. They were not at all like the pet guard variants.

They hunted on command. And to that end, they came equipped with claws and fangs and a sturdy body made of steel.

Hey, hey, I think youve got the order wrong, Shinichi said.

But if one were to ask how they compared to the bullets from earlier, then the only response could be that they were slower.

It was true that they were quick and nimble as far as beasts went, but they were still too slow compared to bullets.

They ran like the wind and leaped with great vigor, but to the boy, they were no different from a sheet of paper slowly descending.

Avoiding them would have been childs play, but there were people whove yet to stand up behind him.

In the first place, these things werent strong enough that he had to avoid them.

Fu.

What could three possibly accomplish?

Shinichi fearlessly smiled in the face of the three beast drones.

Two beast drones leaped, aiming for his head and stomach, while the remaining one continued running to try and bite at his feet.

The three beast drones lined up vertically beautifully. If there were just one more, perhaps they would have vanished from this space.

Shinichi dared to think such idle thoughts as he watched the claws and fangs reach out for him.

If they were going to leap at him, they really should have done it after surrounding him first, Shinichi thought.

Shinichi!!

Fear and apprehension could audibly be felt from his childhood friends cry.

It was a voice Shinichi had heard many times before. A fearful voice that cried out whenever he got hurt.

He really hasnt changed one bit, has he? Shinichi actually felt bad when he thought of what he was about to do.

But there was no stopping him anymore. Shinichi smiled and shifted his body slightly.

The first to reach him was the beast drone looking to take a bite out of his stomach.

Unfortunately for it, that small step Shinichi took caused it to miss its supper.

The fangs of the beast drone clamped down on the air only to find its head held down between Shinichis armpit, while the claws aiming for his head were grabbed by his other arm and then smashed into the beast drone going for his legs.

As the forelimbs to which those claws belonged to were torn off in the ensuing impact and then promptly abandoned, Shinichi laid his hands on the last beast drone locked between his armpit.

With the head of the beast drone firmly fixed, Shinichi twisted downwards.

When the limbs returned to their original position, a sound cried out from the steel body, and then it fell.

Shinichi loosened his armpit, and the head of the beast drone quietly rolled down onto the ground.

The whole process took only one breath to complete. It was almost as if Shinichi had done something similar many times before.

Huh?

It was curious whose voice that was that cried out.

One thing for sure, however, was that the only thing left before Shinichi now was a heap of scrap that had been smashed into each other and the remains (scrap) of a broken toy whose head has been twisted off.

Just like that the fearsome hunting dogs of steel were easily put down by the bare hands of a human. They who were meant to hunt were themselves hunted instead.

Before that sight, the girl and the criminals could only gawk in silence with their mouth agape.