One Hour
She's weaving through that? Insane...
Across a bridge littered with the wreckage of an overturned car, Rai held Orchi in his arms and stared at Chain.
Hoooooooowww...!!!
Three people stood between them.
Kana, Misa, and Yuna.
Kana was glaring at Chain with her fists clenched, while Yuna stood there lazily, lollipop in her mouth.
And Misa...
"I'm scared-eeeee...!"
She was hiding almost entirely behind Kana's back.
"Misa."
"Y-yes..."
"Come out a little."
"I don't wanna-aaaa..."
"You're abandoning your own team?"
"Am I not allowed to do that...?"
"Of course not--!!"
Rai looked at the three of them for a moment, then let out a sigh.
"Haah... Forget it."
At his words, all three turned around.
"The job's done, so run. Get out of here."
"What?"
Kana's expression hardened.
"Running away from that woman was the job. Fighting her wasn't in the contract."
Rai glanced at Chain.
Viiiiiiinnng~~!!
She was advancing slowly, chainsaw in one hand.
"You know she's not at a level you three can handle."
Rai's voice was dead serious.
"B-rank, C-rank, none of that matters. That woman... you can't take her. Not even close."
Kana stared at Rai for a moment.
Then she grinned.
"What kind of fixer runs off and abandons her client?"
".........!!"
"Besides, we got paid~!"
Yuna rolled her lollipop around in her mouth.
"Paid in advance, technically."
"Which makes it even more so!!"
Ta-at--!!
Kana thrust her fist forward.
"Let's see this through to the end!!"
Misa, still trembling, nodded from behind Kana.
"M-me toooooo..."
"Oh, now you step forward... no, you didn't."
Kana looked at Misa, who was still lurking behind her, and sagged in disappointment.
"But my heart is standing next to you..."
"What good is that supposed to do!!"
Yuna snorted a small laugh.
"Eh, whatever."
She bit down on her lollipop.
"We should earn our keep."
Clack.
Chain came to a stop in front of them.
"Junior here found himself some really good teammates~!"
She swept her gaze over the three of them.
"I have no particular intention of killing you."
Clack.
She rested the chainsaw on her shoulder.
"But if you get in my way..."
She smiled.
"I might just have to break some limbs~!"
The corners of Kana's mouth lifted.
"What a considerate assassin."
"Assassin?"
Chain tilted her head.
"Well, close enough, isn't it?"
"You showed yourself out in the open and everything—pretty fair for an assassin~!"
Shwk.
Kana raised her fist.
"Let's go!!"
In that instant, Chain moved.
KWAAAANG--!!
The chainsaw scraped against the bridge as she lunged forward at explosive speed.
"Misa!!"
"Yes!"
Misa's pupils trembled.
【Link】.
Misa's ability had activated.
Hmmm.
A mental connection formed between her, Kana, and Yuna.
Their vision and senses overlapped in a single instant—which meant Chain's every movement was transmitted to all three of them simultaneously.
"Right side, three o'clock--!!"
Misa shouted, and Kana twisted her body in a panic.
"Ghk...!!"
Woooooomng---!!!!
Chain's chainsaw grazed past right in front of her nose.
"Yuna!!"
"Got it."
Yuna reached out her hand.
Twak--!!!
【Vector】.
The ability to manipulate the direction and force of motion of anything she touched.
Shwk.
The moment Yuna's fingertips brushed the chainsaw's handle, the axis of its spinning force bent, ever so slightly.
"Oh? That's neat?"
The chainsaw's trajectory, which had been arcing straight toward Kana, slid sideways.
"Now!!"
Twak---!!!
Kana kicked off the ground.
【Overdrive】.
A reinforcement-type ability that pushed the body and equipment to their absolute limits.
Kana's body exploded forward in an instant.
Twaaaaaaat--!!!
"TAKE THIIIIIIIS--!!!"
BAM----!!!!
Her blazing fist drove straight for Chain's side.
But.
Chain spun half a turn and slipped out of its path.
Hooooooow--!!
"You're all so much fun~!"
Chain's eyes widened just a touch.
"Your teamwork's better than I expected~?"
Kana grinned.
"Obviously!!"
Rai's eyes flew wide open.
"They're actually syncing up...!!"
Misa read Kana's movements, Yuna bent Chain's attack trajectories, and Kana dove through the openings.
The three abilities were linking together with astonishing, almost effortless precision.
That's the coordination of a B-rank and a C-rank?
Rai marveled.
Twak--!!!
Dodging Chain's strike, Kana shouted.
"I'm the Awakener of Overdrive, 【Overdriver】 Kana!"
"A-a-a-and...!!"
Misa said in a shaking voice.
"The Awakener of Link, 【Linker】 Misa...!!!"
Yuna spoke with her lollipop still in her mouth.
"Awakener of Vector, 【Vector】 Yuna."
"At least try to sound cool during the introductions!"
"Too much effort."
The three of them moved again.
Viiiiiiiiiing---!!!
"Think you can dodge this too?"
Chain's chainsaw swung down at Kana's head.
Fwook--!!!
"WHOA--!!"
Kana ducked low.
At the same moment, Yuna rolled in beneath Chain's feet.
"Changing... your movement."
Yuna's hand brushed Chain's leg.
Tap--!!
Chain's balance shattered in an instant.
"Oh dear~?"
Misa cried out.
"Kana!!"
"On it!"
Ta-at--!!!
Kana leapt straight up.
"EAT THIS ONE MORE TIIIIIME--!!"
BAM----!!!!
This time she slammed her fist solidly into Chain's arm.
Thud-thud-thud-thud--!!
Chain's body skidded backward a few steps.
"..........."
Shwk.
Chain looked down at her own arm.
Then she smiled, slowly.
"You three. I feel like I've seen you somewhere before, back in the day?"
Still panting for breath, Kana grinned.
"How about it!!"
"Pretty good, honestly~!"
Chain raised the chainsaw again.
"But. You realize the gap between us is just too wide?"
Woooooooong---!!!!
The sound of the chainsaw changed.
A shriek so sharp and vicious it bore no comparison to before tore across the bridge.
Misa's face went rigid.
"W-w-w-waitwaitwait-aaaa...!!"
"What?"
"That's-that's-that's dangerouuuuus--!!!"
Misa's whole body shook.
"It's different from before...!!!"
Shwk.
Chain let the chainsaw hang down at her side.
"Playing with you was fun while it lasted."
She smiled brightly.
"Shall we start wrapping this up?"
The smile drained from Kana's face.
"Everyone, focus--!!!"
Chain vanished from their sight in the blink of an eye.
"Left!!"
Misa screamed.
"Ghk--!!"
Fwook--!!
Kana whipped around desperately.
BAM---!!
Chainsaw met fist.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud--!!!
Kana was driven straight backward.
"Ghhhhh...!!!"
"Kana!!"
Misa poured strength into her Link.
"Coming around again...!!"
Yuna reached out to bend the direction of Chain's attack.
Fwak--!!!
But Chain was simply too fast.
"What...?"
Before Yuna's hand could reach her, Chain twisted her body.
At a speed in a completely different dimension from anything she'd shown before.
And then she drove her foot into Yuna's stomach.
BAM---!!
"Kgha--!!"
Thud-thud-thud-thud, CRASH--!!
Yuna tumbled across the ground, her lollipop flying from her mouth.
"Yuna!!"
Kana threw herself toward her.
Chain watched her come with leisurely amusement and swung the chainsaw with one hand.
Wmng--!!!
"Hyiii--!!!"
Kana barely managed to dodge, but...
BAM----!!
"Ghek--!!"
The follow-up kick sent her flying.
Grumble-grumble-grumble, CRASH--!!
Kana's back slammed into the bridge railing.
"K-Kanaaaaaa----!!!"
Misa screamed in terror.
Fwook.
In that instant, Chain appeared in front of her.
"Hyiiii...!!!"
Misa raised both hands to shield her face.
But Chain didn't attack.
She simply poked Misa lightly on the forehead with one finger.
"WAAAH!!"
And with that loud shout to startle her...
"Uuuuuh..."
Thud.
Misa's eyes rolled back and she crumpled where she stood.
Tuk... tuk-tuk...
Kana tried to push herself up again.
"It's... not over yet..."
Chain looked down at her.
"Yeah?"
The next moment.
"BAM--!!"
Kana's head was driven into the ground.
".........."
Kana didn't get up again.
Yuna, too, lay sprawled on the ground without moving.
And Misa was foaming at the mouth, out cold.
Hooooooooowwww...!!
It had been brief.
Chain had put down all three of them in quick succession.
And in the process, she had taken barely a scratch.
"..........."
Rai stared at the scene, hollow-eyed.
Woooong.
Chain shut off the chainsaw and looked at him.
Then she began walking over, slowly.
Clack. Clack. Clack. Clack.
"Junior."
Rai's body went stiff.
Chain came to a stop in the middle of the bridge.
"What are you going to do now?"
Rai couldn't say a word.
All he could do was pull Orchi tighter against his chest.
The three fallen bodies before him.
The wrecked car at his back.
And Chain in front of him.
There was nowhere left to run.
Chain looked at him and smiled brightly.
"Now then, why don't the two of us..."
"........!!!"
"...have a nice, quiet little chat?"
It was at that exact moment.
Just as Chain moved to close the distance to Rai—
Crack.
The air itself began to split.
Fissures spread through the empty sky as if an invisible pane of glass were shattering.
"Hm?"
Chain stopped mid-step.
The crack widened into a massive rupture in an instant, brilliant light spilling from within it.
Chain narrowed her eyes and watched with what looked distinctly like interest.
"Oh my~?"
From the torn-open space, a figure emerged.
CLANG----!!!!
And landed squarely on the bridge.
Clack.
Right in front of Rai.
Rai's eyes went wide at the sight.
"Shalla--!!!"
A figure standing with her back turned to him.
That familiar silhouette.
It was Shalla.
Shalla said nothing as she stared at Chain.
Her expression was different from usual.
It wasn't anger. It wasn't panic.
It was the face of someone who had made a decision.
Rai could only stare at her, dazed.
"You... why..."
Shalla didn't answer.
She simply opened her mouth, her eyes fixed on Chain.
"Chain."
"Hm?"
"Give me one hour."
At Shalla's commanding tone, the corners of Chain's mouth curved up.
"One hour?"
She tilted her head.
"Time for what, exactly?"
Shalla glanced briefly back at Rai.
Then she looked at Chain again.
"I need time to talk with our landlord."
".........."
Chain's eyes shifted to Rai.
Then she swept her gaze once over the three fallen members of Mechakurachacha.
And she snorted a laugh.
"Ah-ha!!"
Clack.
Chain rested the chainsaw on her shoulder.
"If it's his last hour, I suppose I can spare it~!"
"........."
"Talk all you like."
Chain turned away as if it meant nothing at all to her.
"I'll step aside for a bit."
And she began walking slowly toward the far side of the bridge.
Rai's eyes went wide.
".....What?"
Chain was genuinely backing off.
Rai looked back and forth between Shalla and Chain's retreating figure.
He couldn't make sense of any of it.
Barely minutes ago, Chain had been hunting him down like she intended to kill him.
Yet the moment Shalla appeared, she had yielded without a fight.
Shwk.
Shalla watched Chain go until she was out of earshot, then slowly turned toward Rai.
Their eyes met.
".........."
".........."
Rai's mouth opened.
But no words came out.
What on earth had made her come back?
Why had she come looking for him?
And why had she demanded time from Chain?
There were far, far too many things he wanted to ask her.