Chapter 54
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Summer Vacation Special Camp (8)
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Excited Carmen strode forward unprotected and got her head blasted by the woman's beam, dying instantly...
Nothing like that happened.
Carmen was a pro in this field after all. She seemed ready to charge ahead full of excitement, but suddenly halted and tilted her head. The vibe that screamed she was about to pounce faded away.
The scene was obviously off just by looking at it. The body had a gaping hole in its chest, and the corridor wall had an identical hole punched through. The door was smashed, and I was lying on the floor like I'd dived to dodge something.
Carmen's excitement finally cooled off.
She took another look at the boss's corpse sprawled in front of her. After glancing at the hole in the floor and the one in the wall, she turned back to me. When I drew an X in the air with my finger, Carmen narrowed her eyes and assumed a stance. Then, in a low voice, she asked,
"...Who's inside?"
I whispered to Carmen.
"There's a woman who shoots beams."
"Beams?"
Carmen cocked her head. She'd been glaring at me like she wanted to kill me moments ago, but now she looked a bit embarrassed. Smiling at her, I said,
"Anyway, the boss is dead, so why not just head downstairs? That beam woman seems dangerous."
My words must've irked Carmen again. Her eyebrow twitched, and she shot back up. What kind of industry pro got scratched up easier than a chalkboard, reacting instantly to every little thing I said?
"...How do you know she's important? Shoots beams? You think someone like that can beat me? You couldn't handle her, but I can. Just watch."
Then Carmen crouched down just like me and raised two fingers, wiggling them around. The steel puppet doll standing behind her like a marionette, drenched in blood, floated up and wobbled toward the room following her hand movements.
Its appearance and the way its limbs flailed were so grotesque it could've starred in a B-grade horror flick. Noticing me staring at the doll, Carmen said,
"...Cool, right? That transformation thing you mentioned."
"...Yeah, sure."
Well, I had to say it was cool. Carmen didn't look to be in a great mood. She seemed satisfied with my answer. Positioning the doll by the side of the room like it was on standby, she shoved it inside roughly like some special forces operative. The barely hanging door shattered with a boom, and a woman's voice rang out from within.
"Ow! What the hell! What's this! You said no attack, then you hit me from behind?!"
Kwaaaang!
The wall exploded with a blast. It was a precise shot aimed right at head height. If we hadn't been lying down, our heads would've been gone. Wall debris flew everywhere. Carmen flinched at the noise for a second before smirking and saying,
"I can control it without looking."
As she crossed her arms and furrowed her brow, a whooshing wind and brutal tearing sounds erupted from inside. How was that steel doll moving in there? Probably spinning like a top, but peeking out to check would've gotten me killed instantly.
"Argh! What is this! Remote control? Die! Die!"
Kwang! Kwaaaang!
Two more explosions followed in quick succession. One diagonally, then one right in front of us.
The floor right in front of us shattered, hot heat blasting out, and even Carmen flinched in surprise. Did that break her focus? Laughter echoed from inside.
"Oh, you're lying over there, huh? I was gonna spare you, but you hit me from behind? Fine. Come kill me then."
Oh, this was bad.
It was pure instinct. I reached out, grabbed Carmen by the scruff of her neck, and threw myself with all my strength.
"Wh-what are you...!"
Carmen's sharp yelp was buried under the deafening crash as the wall right in front of us exploded. Her eyes were wide open, and the wall and floor between layers were completely demolished, revealing the office interior crystal clear.
When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back.
The woman inside had tossed off her sunglasses and was grinning at us.
Her pupils were eerily pitch black. As she slipped a hand into her pocket and focused on us, a flash erupted like a camera strobe.
"Waaah!"
Kwaaaang!
The wall shattered in a blast. The outer wall crumbled, exposing the beautiful night sky, with people below staring up at the building amid neon signs and thumping club music.
Gripping Carmen, I said,
"Let's run! We can't take her alone!"
Carmen yelled,
"You block her with your body first! Then maybe we can win!"
"Her?"
I pointed at the shattered wall. It wasn't just impact damage—the broken edges were scorched red-hot. Carmen glanced at the wall, then at me, asking,
"...No good?"
I shook my head. Carmen clicked her tongue, then looked ahead again. The woman was approaching, humming a tune.
"Two of you? Thought bringing a friend would let you win..."
"She's not my friend!"
Carmen shouted vehemently and thrust her hand out again. Chairs scattered everywhere, the steel doll in the room, and even a knife from who-knows-where alongside the desk—all kinds of metal chunks lunged at the woman simultaneously.
"Huh?"
She'd clearly misunderstood Carmen's ability. The woman looked around in mild panic. Metal objects floated from all sides, and before she could fire a beam, a pipe stabbed toward her face like a spear. It was aimed dead at her head.
She barely dodged, jerking back in surprise, and started fleeing while weaving through the flying objects. Steel balls shot between her legs, a knife slashed her clothes like a boomerang, a needle grazed her arm, and a massive chair whooshed overhead.
"Wait! Hold on! Let's talk this out! Talk!"
A blade flew at her head. As a chair targeted her ankle and launched her into the air, a steel doll smashed into her from somewhere, sending her flying back into the room.
"Waaah!"
The woman crashed into the room with a scream. She slammed hard into the wall, accompanied by the sound of a desk splintering and her groan.
"Ow, my back...!"
Carmen declared,
"I'm different from you! You think I'll lose to your power?! Die already!"
Veins bulged on Carmen's arms as she levitated every metal chunk around and began mashing them together. The gathering metal scraps looked like swarming bugs. Steel pipes rolled on the floor, chairs tumbled from corners, a globe with an iron axis rolled along the steel lines, and knives sliced through the air with gleaming edges.
The clamor of metal converging at the doorway drowned out the woman's voice.
Staring at the massive metal clump, Carmen said,
"Die!"
"Argh, seriously?!"
Then the woman yelled in frustration.
A blinding flash erupted right in front of us.
It was like the whole world drowned in light, my ears ringing deafeningly.
My whole body heated up like I'd stepped into a sauna, and no sounds reached me. The building shook, faint afterimages of debris flying about. The metal clump, the walls—everything that had held shape even as faint lines was swept away in the blaze.
A moment of silence.
Then rainbow afterimages and a swaying view.
A piercing beep rang out as Carmen slumped to the spot. And before us, everything was gone.
The metal that filled the room, the walls that had clearly marked the boundary—nothing remained. Massive heat and hot steam rose, and the building looked like someone had scooped out a huge chunk from where the woman sat to the opposite side, completely vaporized.
"Uh..."
Carmen was speechless.
I couldn't comprehend what had just happened either, just blinking in shock.
A glance sideways showed the neighboring building with a corner blown off too.
Devastating traces like a giant snake had slithered through.
"Huh? It's shaking! Shaking! We gotta get out!"
Shaking Carmen snapped her out of it.
Had they wrecked the building too much? It was trembling. Leave it like this, and it'd collapse, burying us alive. Police cars wailed in the distance.
"Huh? Wh-what?"
"Hold on!"
I hoisted Carmen onto my back and eyed the hole the woman had made. She'd vanished in the meantime, probably fled. Conveniently, the hole faced where Dennis had parked the car.
If it got real bad, I said I'd jump, right?
You said you'd catch me with telekinesis, yeah?
Auntie Dennis.
Believe that promise?
"I'm jumping!"
"What?"
Ignoring Carmen's response, I leaped from the building with everything I had.
"W-wait, hold on! Aaaaaah!"
Carmen screamed like a little girl.
Mission accomplished, anyway.