Chapter 185: A Hero's True Colors
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 185: A Hero's True Colors
Fortunately, Ryuji said he would come right away.
Is this what you’d expect from a protagonist? I was honestly a little moved that he’d rush into such a dangerous place without a moment’s hesitation.
"When you say Ryuji, are you talking about Sakamoto Ryuji from your class?"
"How do you know him, Vice President?"
"I saw his file when I was checking the physical examination records. After you, that kid Ryuji is at the top of the entire second year in terms of physical ability. For you to ask for his help, he must be no ordinary person, right?"
"He's a civilian. Just a really strong one."
"That's not what we call a 'civilian' in this business."
"Then let's just go with that."
That wasn't what was important right now, anyway.
"It'll take at least ten minutes for Ryuji to get here from downtown Kyoto. Let's think about how we're going to evade their forces until then. It's already 11:10."
"Wouldn't it be better to just stay hidden?"
"That'll only work for a little while. Besides, you said we still have nine more floors to climb."
Using the elevator was impossible at this point, so we had to keep that in mind.
"Then how about this."
"What is it?"
"For now, we keep fighting our way up like we have been. If it gets to be too much, we split up. I'll buy as much time as I can while you head to the 21st floor alone."
"So, you're saying we stick to the original plan?"
"The infiltration route itself is still viable, so there's no need to change it. The 20th floor will have wedding guests, so security will be much tighter there than on the other floors."
"Got it. Let's do that, then."
Having rested enough, we decided it was time to move again.
We still had a long way to go.
"I'll take the lead this time."
"Take it easy. If you kill even one of them, it'll be a headache later."
"I have a no-kill policy."
I replied, snapping the neck of a passing security guard.
*
"Over here! The intruders are over here!"
"Waaaaaah!"
"Overwhelm them with numbers!"
No matter how many we took down, the security guards just kept coming.
At this point, I was starting to suspect they were automatically respawning from somewhere.
"Kim Yoo-Sung! Duck!"
Hearing the Vice President's voice from behind, I instinctively lowered my head. A sharp steel needle grazed the space just above me.
"Gyaaaaargh!"
Wow, that looked painful.
The Vice President, whose unique weapons were long needles that would surely make anyone with a phobia of them tremble, wielded three in each hand like claws.
No matter how muscular a martial artist is, a blade is still a blade.
Except for someone like me, whose body is abnormally tough, every single one of the Vice President's strikes would have felt life-threatening.
Thud!
"What floor are we on?"
"The 15th. Five more to go."
"Should be quick."
"I hope so."
I dusted off my hands and started up to the next landing.
"That's far enough, kids."
It was then.
A voice I'd heard before.
"...Master."
Waiting for us on the 16th-floor landing was the female ninja who was the master of both the Vice President and Minami—Koga Izumo.
She had been in a suit before, but now she was wearing a high-leg suit that looked like a combination of a ninja's signature mesh stockings and armor.
Honestly, I didn't know where to look.
First Fuma-senpai, and now this Koga Izumo person. Is it normal for female ninjas' combat uniforms to be so revealing?
The woman herself was acting completely unfazed, so I couldn't exactly point it out.
"You go no further. You know the reason why, don't you?"
"Even if you are my master, I cannot obey that command."
"Shinji, think carefully. What you're doing now will not only tarnish the Young Lady's reputation, but the entire Saionji family's. How do you plan to deal with the aftermath?"
"My loyalty is not to the Saionji family, but to the Young Lady alone. The day I first met her, I swore to serve her for the rest of my life. How can anyone condemn a vassal for dedicating his life to his lord's happiness?"
"You stubborn fool..."
Perhaps deciding that further conversation was pointless, Koga Izumo muttered to herself and put on a pair of gauntlets engraved with an eight-headed snake.
"If this is how it must be, then it seems we'll have to have a little 'talk' after all this time."
"I couldn't ask for more, Master."
The Vice President spoke, aiming the steel needles in his hands at his master, Koga Izumo.
"Kim Yoo-Sung, I'll handle things here. You go on ahead."
"Are you sure, Vice President?"
"If she's the master I know, she won't kill me. Don't worry and just go."
"...I wish you luck."
I gave the Vice President a slight nod and ran up the stairs to the next floor.
*
"That kid's name was Kim Yoo-Sung, wasn't it? He'll probably die. At the hands of that Hattori fellow."
"Pfft-"
Hearing his master Koga Izumo's words, Akagi Shinjiro couldn't help but let out a snort of laughter.
"Are you laughing?"
"No, I wasn't trying to laugh at you, Master. It's just... hearing you say that Kim Yoo-Sung will die is just funny."
"...And what's so funny about it?"
Looking at his master's displeased face, Akagi Shinjiro declared with conviction.
"Kim Yoo-Sung... that guy is, without a doubt, the strongest human I have ever met. So strong that I can't even begin to imagine him losing."
"Shinji, I don't understand why you rate him so highly. He's just a 17-year-old high school student. There's no way he could defeat Hattori Hanzo, who was raised to be a weapon from the moment he was born."
"You never know until you try."
"...You've gotten quite witty while I wasn't looking. Talking back to your master's opinions, I see."
"Wasn't I always cheeky? When I was young, you gave me plenty of 'talks' as discipline because of it."
"This time won't be much different."
"No, I don't think it will be as easy as you think."
Akagi Shinjiro glared at his master, Koga Izumo, and swung the steel needles in both his hands.
───!
At the gruesome sound of the nearly 30-centimeter-long steel skewers piercing bare flesh, Koga Izumo winced involuntarily.
"Self-harm at a time like this?"
Cough!
"It's not self-harm. I've merely struck my body's 'acupressure points'."
Akagi Shinjiro coughed up blood as he spoke, pulling the 'needles' from his body.
But strangely, not a single drop of blood flowed from the holes in his clothes.
This was his hidden card, unknown even to his master, Koga Izumo. It was what he had spent the last five years preparing.
"In the past, while training under you, Master, I realized something. I don't have Minami's talent, so I had to bet everything on my physical technique."
Shinjiro said, shrugging off his suit jacket.
"So I pushed my body to its absolute limit. To protect my one and only Young Lady, and to never lose to anyone again."
The white dress shirt underneath was stretched taut over his muscles.
"But a body that large interfered with daily life. So I compressed it myself. These muscles of mine that had grown far too massive."
Rip! Riiip!
His dress shirt, unable to withstand his rapidly swelling muscles, began to tear.
Akagi Shinjiro, whose slim frame had instantly bulked up to nearly three times its original size, ripped the now-useless shirt off with one hand and shouted.
"Here I come, Master!"
*
17th floor.
18th floor.
With each floor I climbed, countless security guards were waiting for me.
It goes without saying, but fighting them alone was much harder than fighting them as a pair.
My body, which had been full of energy at first, now felt like I was flailing my limbs in water.
I suppose I was reaching my physical limit in many ways.
But I couldn't stop.
To save the President, and to keep my promise to the Vice President.
Even as my mouth grew dry and tasted of metal, I grit my teeth and pushed forward.
And finally, the 19th floor.
Waiting for me there was Hattori Ayame, the girl I'd met on the first floor.
"It's a shame, Kim-kun. That we have to meet again under these circumstances."
Still in her gorgeous party dress, she stood alone on the empty 19th-floor landing.
Chirp, chirp!
The sparrow perched on her shoulder, Chosuke, recognized me and chirped lightly.
Hattori slightly lifted the hem of her skirt.
Revealed beneath it was a garter belt with several shuriken tucked into it.
She pulled one out, spun it between her fingers, and pointed the tip at me.
"You can't go any further. If you try, I will attack you."
I swallowed hard and asked her.
"Do we have to do this? I don't want to hurt you."
A bitter smile touched Hattori's lips.
"You're foolishly kind. To say something like that with a straight face in this situation."
But-
"I can't grant your request. For a ninja, credibility is a very important matter. If I let you go because of my personal feelings, the credibility of my entire clan will suffer."
"...So you have things you can't back down from, too."
"That's right."
"Then I have no choice."
I'd have to leave my back to him.
"What?"
Ding!
At that very moment, with perfect timing, the elevator she had her back to came to a stop.
Startled, Hattori spun around.
The tightly shut steel doors slid open, and the person inside slowly walked out.
It was, of course, the ultimate backup I had called for.
"From this moment on, it is my time."
Ryuji, having given control of his body to Mahes, muttered as he set both his hands ablaze.