Chapter 8
Chapter 8
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: A Girl's Bonds and Her Unstoppable Sprint☆ (4)
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Darkness arrived after the crimson-stained twilight.
Warm streetlights twinkled on the streets of the still-awake Academy City.
A time when cold stars poured down from the sky visible beyond the branches of the World Tree.
In the direction stretching toward the outskirts of the Academy City.
There were those racing toward that horizon.
Dozens of illegally modified ether bikes raced side-by-side, occupying the road.
Like dozens of remoras clinging to the surface of a giant fish, they paraded majestically, surrounding a massive vehicle.
Vroooooom—!!
Vroom—vroom—
Vwoooom—!!
Large exhaust pipes.
The noise they spewed with every acceleration.
The heat rising between their legs.
Though the bikes were crudely modified to run on illegally sourced ore instead of officially licensed ether-conductive minerals, their rough and unrefined appearance was exactly what the delinquent students loved.
Was it because of the thrilling sense of freedom that came from being unbound?
Like kites with their strings cut in a typhoon, the delinquents endlessly raced down the road. They brandished their weapons in the air or let out wild cries as they advanced.
Among them, two were the most crazed for speed, racing to claim the lead. The speed of their two bikes could only be described as reckless.
“Kyahahahat—!!”
“Yeehaw—!!”
“Heheh—!! Hey! Your engine sounds killer today—?”
“What? Can’t hear you!! Speak up!!”
“I said!! Your engine sounds even more killer today!!”
“Kyahahahat—!! That’s ‘cause the boss gave us a ton of illegal ether ore for our last job. I swiped some behind the captain’s back last night and put it in mine—!!”
“What? Hehe!! You’re really a crazy bitch, huh? If the captain finds out, you’ll disappear from the slums without a trace!! Hehe…!!”
“Ah~ Whatever, whatever!! As long as I can ride right now, I’m satisfied—!!”
Vroom— vroom—
Vroooooom—!!
As if showing off whose bike was the bigger monster.
The two revved their throttles, making a racket.
A strange sound cut through the noise, reaching their ears.
*Chiring☆*
*Chiring☆*
Strangely irritating.
A suspiciously lovely bicycle bell sound.
*Chiring☆*
*Chiring☆*
The two delinquents, in the middle of their reckless ride, looked at each other with puzzled expressions.
“...?”
“...?”
Since the two of them were racing far ahead of the pack.
Aside from the group and the large vehicle behind them.
It should have been normal for no one else to be around on the road.
It was strange.
“...”
“...”
*Chiring☆*
*Chiring☆*
Even amidst the roaring engines.
The lovely bicycle bell sound didn't fade.
It continued to ring at the same volume.
To be precise, it was gradually getting louder than before.
*Chiring☆*
*Chiring☆*
Just as the two were looking around, a high school girl with flowing pink hair cut in between them.
A red afterimage.
Shwooooooosh—
A red bicycle began to overtake them, weaving between the two speeding bikes. On it was a pink-haired girl with a brown-haired girl riding on the back.
The pink-haired girl, riding the unbelievably fast bicycle, offered a leisurely greeting.
“Hi there—☆”
“Huh?”
“Eh.”
“Wait, what is this...?!”
“Crazy?! She’s keeping up with a mo-motorcycle on a bicycle?!”
“No, she’s passing us now?! What the hell is this—?!”
Shk-shk-shk-shk-shk—!!
Kakakakakak—!!
Like the vigorous back-and-forth motion of an engine's pistons.
The bicycle's pedals moved with a transcendent speed of repetitive leg motion.
The afterimage left by the red frame and the eerie whirring of the chain.
Shk-shk-shk-shk-shk—!!
Kakakakakak—!!
It was a truly terrifying sight.
As the two delinquent students watched in bewilderment.
The girl with the suspiciously lovely smile let go of the handlebars and pulled swords from the bag slung on the back of her bike with both hands.
Vwoooom—
With an ominous sound, the swords in her hands were enveloped in red ether. They soon swelled up like balloons, glowing hot.
The pink-haired girl, with a bright expression, jammed the bomb-like, heated weapons into the front wheels of the two bikes.
“Take this—☆”
*Krr-thunk—!*
Between the frantically spinning wheels.
The sword pierced the empty space with perfect timing.
A gap that would be hard to hit even with a lucky shot.
The two delinquents screamed in horror.
“Uwaaaaaah?!”
“Noooooo!!”
And then, an explosion.
KABOOOOOM—!!
Red flames and scorching heat.
It exploded, leaving behind acrid smoke and a massive spray of debris.
The two delinquents shot upward, looking like rockets launching toward the far reaches of space.
The delinquents who had been riding the two bikes soared into the sky.
“Uwaaaaaaaah—!!”
“Aaaaaaaah—!!”
Shwoooooooooosh—!!
The two who had shot into the sky.
They slowly flew off into the darkness and disappeared, leaving only faint screams behind.
*Twinkle—!*
In their final moment, they shone like stars.
＊
Alvitt muttered blankly.
“...That was quite a flight.”
“...Well, something like that is nothing for a high school girl, right? Though they’ll be sore for about a week—!”
“By the way, I’ve been wondering, why is your bicycle so fast, senior?! This is definitely not a normal speed—!!”
“Red Hare is supposed to increase movement speed—☆”
“What in the world are you... Ugh... Never mind.”
I grabbed the handlebars again and adjusted my speed.
I could hear the engines of the vehicles chasing us from behind.
Vroooooom—!!
Vroom— vroom—!!
Vwoooom—!!
After witnessing the absurd way I took down the two lead bikes.
I could feel the hostility of the delinquents in the following vehicles skyrocketing.
Shwoooosh—
As I gradually slowed my pedaling.
The distance between us and those chasing us grew shorter.
The vague information from my senses became more precise.
‘Hmm… It seems like the hostages are in that large trailer-like vehicle…’
The sounds felt from the large vehicle's vibrations.
Information gathered through the vehicle's subtle tremors and presences.
The cargo bay in the back was divided by a partition.
‘Hostages, and guards.’
The place where the kidnapped were being held.
And five delinquent students watching them in case they tried to escape.
‘A bunch of nobodies who can barely handle [Basic Ether]. I can leave this side to Alvitt.’
“...”
I glanced sideways at the cargo bay of the large vehicle, where I sensed a particularly sensitive presence among the hostages.
Though it was hidden by a wall.
-Twitch...
I could feel it with my senses.
Most of the hostages were giving off bewildered presences, but one among them was flinching and startling more than the others.
‘Judging by the presences, there are about ten kidnapped students. One of them is reacting sensitively, moving their ears like a beastkin, so that must be Lotha.’
During my stormy first year.
I’d beaten up plenty of beastkin who came at me, so I knew well how they reacted when startled.
As a sensitive cat beastkin, Lotha would likely wake up from the noise faster than the others.
‘I was worried because Lotha’s storyline has particularly tricky timing.’
I was inwardly relieved that I could save her before it was too late.
But these couldn't be all the hostages.
The numerous hostages the shopkeeper mentioned seeing were probably at their main base.
‘From here on out, I should think of this as a bonus stage for the diligent Alvitt.’
It would be perfect if I rescue them too while I'm at it.
With that in mind, I kept pedaling. My legs, moving so fast they left afterimages, faithfully performed their repetitive motion, controlling the bicycle's speed.
Whether she knew what I was thinking or not.
Alvitt sighed from the back seat, looking at the result of my actions.
“Sigh…”
The pursuing vehicles were still approaching, their occupants fuming.
They were filled with the enraged voices of countless delinquent students.
[Who the hell are those bitches!!]
[Those bitches!! Look at their coats, they’re from the Union!! They’re Union trash!!]
[Catch them!! Stick to them!!]
Vroooooom—!!
Vroom— vroom—!!
Vwoooom—!!
But perhaps because of the wreckage from the two bikes I’d sent flying, some other bikes were toppling over trying to swerve out of the way.
[Aaaargh?!]
[Can’t, can’t avoid it…!]
[Gah—!!]
[W-w-whoa—?!]
Screeeech—!!
KABOOOM—!!
CRASH!!
CRASH!!
Rhythmic collision sounds, like applause.
A chain-reaction pile-up, where numerous bikes became one big happy family, was an added bonus.
Delinquents were thrown off and knocked unconscious in the accidents.
The road had become a complete and utter mess.
Alvitt praised my ether-wielding technique that had created this mess.
“Senior… that’s a really weird way to use ether.”
“Wow! Thanks for the compliment!”
“That wasn’t a compliment!! It’s just a waste of weapons and ether!! Unless you get lucky like before and jam it in the wheel, most people would dodge that!”
“But it worked—☆ Yep! I really am a lucky girl—☆”
“Ugh...!”
“By the way, Alvitt☆ That big vehicle over there~ Something~ Sooome-thing~ a girl’s intuition is telling me! Could you go up and check it out for me☆”
Normally, I would have joked around a bit more leisurely.
Unfortunately, this wasn't a situation where I could afford to be so relaxed.
‘We’ll be at their main base soon…’
Alvitt looked like she wanted to say more, but in the end, she just nodded.
“...We have to save the people first.”
“That’s the spirit—☆”
*Chiring—*
*Chiring—*
And so, following the movement of the Red Hare as it slowly approached the large vehicle, she prepared to jump off at any moment, raising ether throughout her body.
The moment I closed in to get Alvitt near the large vehicle.
Suddenly, the sound of an engine right beside us.
Vroooooaaar—!!
A single grunt charged at us, sword drawn.
“Kyahat!! Eat this—!!”
*Shwick—!*
The grunt was trying to stab Alvitt with a surprise attack as she prepared to get up from the back.
“...!”
The blade thrust forward like a knight in a jousting match.
The keenly sharpened blade was imbued with a crude but definitely red ether that could wound Alvitt.
“Got you!!”
“Nope—☆”
“What do you mean, no—!!”
I narrowed my vision and focused on the approaching grunt’s bike.
‘I see it in a world of moments.’
Expanding senses.
Expanding perception.
Expanding time.
The grunt’s mouth is moving slowly.
I feel the dust and the wind.
All the chaos in my radius is refined.
Perceived as a series of paths.
[Nooooooo—peeeeeee—...]
As I entered the world of moments.
The surrounding noise stretched out like a slowed-down audio track.
And the ultimate sense that allowed me to observe the world was revived.
A slowed world.
From irregularity to regularity.
A sight where the trajectory of all things becomes slowly visible.
Among them, leaving an afterimage.
Turning once, and then again.
I look at the front wheel of the grunt’s bike.
*Tick—*
*Tick—*
*Tick—*
I searched for that moment in the rotation.
I took out one of the practice weapons I’d brought.
And jammed it into the bike’s wheel, visible between the afterimages.
And then the world began to flow at its normal speed again.
“—pe-aaargh?!”
*Thwack—!*
*Clatter-clatter—!!*
*Screeeeeeech—!!*
The grunt's bike tumbled as its wheel stopped spinning.
Alvitt tilted her head, watching the grunt who had suddenly charged and then fallen over all by himself.
All of this took 0.02 seconds.
Relieved that Alvitt was safe, I started pedaling again.
“Oops☆ He fell—!”
“Huh?”
“It’s nothing—☆”
We approached the large vehicle like that.
And continued the long chase until we reached their headquarters.
＊
*Screech—!!*
*Craaaash—!!*
“Kyaa—?!”
“Kyaaaack!!!”
“Ugh!!”
The vehicle suddenly braked.
From the shock of the brakes, Lotha and the other captured students tumbled over while still tied up.
Lotha could only tremble in utter helplessness.
‘What… what’s happening?!’
It was then.
*Creeak—*
“...!”
With the sound of hinges opening, someone entered the cargo bay.
‘Who is it…?’
Lotha felt fear from the presence approaching her. But when the person came closer and untied the cloth covering her eyes, she couldn't help but be surprised by her appearance.
A white coat.
A white uniform.
And kind eyes.
“Don’t worry. We’re from Central Prism Academy, and we’re here to rescue you.”
A sincere and reliable voice.
The girl with the fitting brown bob cut untied the ropes binding her.
At those words, Lotha let out a sigh of relief and said.
“Th-thank you.”
＊
At the same time.
In the delinquents’ headquarters, a place lined with tall, abandoned buildings, a massive figure was watching the scene.
“...”
A head with horns reminiscent of a dragon.
And a muscular body overflowing with a dark red aura.
An endlessly surging, ominous energy.
The suspicious man muttered quietly.
“Hmph… The Priest told me to come and collect the ether from the remaining ones. But as expected, this is the best these inferiors can do.”
Behind the man, students lay limp, their ether forcibly drained. They were the hostages who had been kidnapped by the delinquents.
*Gwoooooh—*
The overwhelming aura of the monstrous man.
It was a malevolent aura so powerful that an ordinary student would faint just from being exposed to it.
The suspicious man slowly grew enraged, emitting an ominous aura from his entire body.
“To dare prevent me from fully carrying out the Priest’s orders… You deserve to d—.”
*KABOOOM—!!*
In that instant, with a huge noise, two small hands appeared from the floor where the man was standing.
The hands grabbed the man’s legs firmly.
“—Hw-what?!”
“Yeees~☆ I’m here for a balance patch—☆ Mid-game bosses aren’t supposed to butt into early-game friendship events—☆”
“W-what is this?! When did you get here?! Uwaaaaaah—!!!”
-Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah…
The huge man was dragged into the hole in the floor, screaming. And once again, silence fell upon the room.