The Intruder (5)
The moment she pulled the trigger, the magic circle embedded in the round flared to life, and the bullet tore down the barrel and out into the open at a terrifying speed.
F-fast!
It was so fast it casually shattered the sound barrier. The assailant's eyes flew wide; he couldn't hide his shock.
I can't dodge this. It's going to hit no matter what.
Even at his absolute best, he couldn't have guaranteed an evasion against a round flying at him like that. His vision had only just recovered, and he had no angle left to slip free.
Then I'll just have to keep it from being fatal!
The bullet was already right in front of him. Decision made, the assailant twisted his body as hard as he could.
Thwip—
"He dodged it?!"
"Ghhhk!!!?"
He managed, just barely, to sacrifice his right arm and keep his life. In exchange, that arm shattered like a bomb had gone off inside it—blown to pieces.
The sheer impact and pain burst the capillaries in his eyes until they were bloodshot red, and blood ran freely down his lips.
"Hah… hah…! Hah…! What a—what a blunder…!"
"……"
Even after taking Rosaria's trump card head-on, the assailant was still on his feet.
Mistake. I got too cocky. In this condition, I can't keep trading blows.
No matter how carefully he'd been holding back against her, he couldn't claim victory with one arm gone.
Still… looks like she can't fire that technique again anytime soon.
The assailant realized Rosaria couldn't immediately reuse the shot she'd just unleashed. If she could have, she wouldn't be standing there staring—she would have fired again and finished him cleanly.
There's no completing the mission like this. That means I have to get out of here, no matter what.
Crrk—
He clamped a cloth tight around the ruin of his arm and locked eyes with Rosaria.
"……"
"……"
The two of them simply stared at each other, breathing hard. A brief silence stretched between them.
Ssst—
"Ah! He's running!!"
The assailant moved first. Students shouted as he spun on his heel and bolted.
I'll kill her…! Next time, I'll kill her for sure…! First I'll smash that right arm of hers the way she did mine, and then I'll make her beg for her life!!
Racing out of the plaza, the assailant swore he would kill Rosaria for the humiliation she'd dealt him. The mission had ordered him not to kill—but for the crime of hurting him this badly, he fully intended to settle the score.
Rosaria, for her part, could only stand motionless and watch him go.
Or rather—watching was more than enough.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Whoosh—
"What?!"
Just as he was about to clear the plaza, the assailant looked up at a sight that froze him in pure horror.
The magic bullet that had punched through his right arm and flown off into the distance was now streaking straight back toward him.
Homing.
One of the reasons Rosaria's guns sat so far outside any reasonable balance. As long as she had a little room to work with, her rounds did not stop until they had completely pierced an enemy's life.
"Right leg first."
Thud—
"Ghh…AAAAAAARGH!!!!!!!!!!"
He had never even imagined the bullet would come back. When Rosaria's round detonated his right leg, he crumpled and finally screamed the cry he'd been holding in.
"Next, left leg."
Thud—
"HGGKAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Left arm."
Thud—
"Guhheeeeek!!!!!!!!!!"
The bullet was not content with one leg. It tore through every remaining limb until he was completely subdued—and only then did it stop.
"Ghk…! Ghk…! Ghhh…!"
"Man. You look ridiculous like that, huh?"
Rosaria walked over to the assailant sprawled on the ground, all four limbs blown apart, bleeding and writhing. This time she was the one looking down at him, and she smiled.
"I'll kill you!!! I swear!!! I will kill you!!!!!!!!!!"
"A piece of trash like you!!! Looking down on me?! On me!!!!!? I'll dig those eyes out and chew them!!!!!!!!!!"
The person he had been sneering at moments ago was now looking down on him and laughing. Something in the assailant's head snapped completely; he frothed and spat as he raged.
"A minute ago you were acting like some edgy middle-schooler, and now you're a textbook villain."
Listening to his gurgling screams, Rosaria lifted her gun and lined up the stock like a baseball bat.
"Take a nap for now. Good night. Or good evening, whatever."
Whoosh—thwack!
"Ghh…hk…!?"
With a clean, cheerful swing, Rosaria cracked him across the head. His neck snapped back; he let out a single breath and went under.
"……Haaaaah! I thought I was gonna die!!"
She stood there a moment longer, making sure he was fully unconscious, then her legs gave out. She dropped onto her backside with a thud and let out a long, shuddering sigh of relief.
For the first time since coming to this world, she had fought a real life-or-death battle. She had thought she was getting used to fighting—but the moment actual blades had nearly taken her arm off, every scrap of tension she'd been holding so tightly snapped free, and her whole body went limp.
"You! Are you all right!?"
With the fight over, Rachel finally came back to herself and ran over, voice urgent.
"Oh my god…! You…! You're bleeding so much!!"
Up close, Rosaria's condition was unmistakable. Rachel clapped a hand over her mouth. Rosaria's entire body was soaked in blood from the cuts; the clothes hanging off her had long since turned red.
"Ah… I'm fine… Just surface cuts. Not that bad."
"Do you honestly think that makes sense!? We need to get you treated—now…!"
—Mom, are you okay…?
"Hm? Yeah… I'm fine. Just, uh, the tension's wearing off."
Ariel had appeared in front of her face without her noticing, looking ready to cry as she pressed a tiny hand to Rosaria's cheek. Rosaria forced a smile and told her she was all right.
And she really was. There were plenty of cuts, but they were only skin-deep—no muscle damage, no nerves. She had collapsed because the first real life-or-death fight had finally let go of her nerves, not because her life was in any danger.
"Still… maybe the tension really is gone… Why am I so… sleepy…"
Whether it was the sudden release of strength or the blood loss, her eyelids kept drooping.
"I'm… gonna sleep for a bit… so… please…"
"What?! Wait, sle—!?"
Her head bobbing, Rosaria swayed once and toppled straight into Rachel's arms, already asleep.
"You're okay, right? You are okay, right?!"
"…Sss—sss—"
"…Whew."
Rachel shook her frantically at first, terrified something had gone wrong—then the soft sound of breathing reached her, and she exhaled in relief.
"…What a strange person."
She sank naturally to her knees, offering her lap as a pillow so Rosaria could sleep a little more comfortably, and murmured under her breath.
Her first impression hadn't been much. Being Professor Felix's younger sister had raised expectations, but at the group meeting Rosaria had barely spoken up, stuck awkwardly in the middle of everyone, and Rachel's interest had cooled at once.
Then came the shock.
As if everything before had been an act, Rosaria had casually eliminated Gren, taken the lead, and cut through the dungeon with a skill that left Rachel stunned.
She really is Felix's sister, Rachel had thought, watching that astonishing display.
But when the assailant struck and Rosaria stepped forward to protect the students—when she fought until she was a wreck and still saved them—something in Rachel settled into place around her without her even noticing.
"To go through all that just to protect us…"
Rachel drew a handkerchief from her pocket and gently wiped the blood from Rosaria's face as she spoke.
Under the mess, the bare face of the girl sleeping so deeply came into view. Not rough or frightening at all—asleep like this, she was strikingly lovely.
"Sleep well. You did well."
At least for this moment, Rachel hoped she would rest easy. She stroked Rosaria's hair with a soft hand.
And so Rosaria drifted into a deep, peaceful sleep.
The fallout from the Artificial Dungeon was enormous.
In all the years past, nothing like this external assault—with actual casualties—had ever struck the place. The Academy's much-vaunted security suddenly looked far less certain, and wariness ran high.
Fortunately, Professor Felix's swift response allowed the Artificial Dungeon and its passages to be restored, and the professors who poured in afterward handled the situation well enough that every student's life was saved intact.
Rosaria's contribution loomed large as well—facing the assailant one-on-one and stopping far greater damage from being done.
And so the joint examination of the Artificial Dungeon, after everything that had happened, finally came to a close.