SWNOVELXO Chapter 28
Blood droplets scatter through the air.
A stripped mask traces a parabola as it flies, unable to resist gravity, and tumbles to the ground.
My mind, having become sufficiently numb from seeing too much blood and corpses throughout the day, is in disarray.
My chest feels hot, as if pierced by a dagger. Logically, I should draw my rifle and return fire to survive. Yet my hand is already gripping Horatio’s back, pulling him toward Omens.
“Omens—!!”
“Damn it, those immoral crazy bastards…!!”
Clang clang clang—!!
Bang!! Boom…!!
I don’t know how much my pathetic strength has helped. I drag Omens’ collapsed body down the stairs for protection from the pouring gunfire. Domino, who had been firing with just a pistol extended, crouches down, seeing that the rogue suppression team isn’t pursuing us any further.
“Phew… Hah…. Huh!”
Screech…!
In that brief moment, he quickly pulls out a jackknife and removes the bullet lodged in his shoulder without hesitation. Perhaps due to the flow of blood and the side effects from the drugs ingested, tremors in his legs are visible even while leaning against the wall.
“Hey, you bastards!! Look before you shoot, look!”
“Isn’t it just shooting at Omens and Nocturne? It’s obvious Daredevil or the hacker will have their weapons anyway….”
“That’s why I’m saying just shoot at the skin…!! Do you really want everyone to die here?!”
Regardless of whether the enemies up above are chattering away, we first check on the condition of the fallen Omens to secure immediate safety.
I feel his abdomen, lying exposed towards the ceiling.
As I approach the wound he had been covering, my hand gets sticky with a liquid. It wasn’t this gruesome just a moment ago…… even for a mercenary, he had accurately damaged his wound.
Braving my fear, I glance up slightly, and see his muscular chest slowly rising and falling. He’s still alive…!
“Omens!! Can you hear me?! You’re alive!”
“………My head hurts like hell.”
“…!!”
For a brief moment, I was glad to receive a response, but his face… was not looking good.
He had already managed to open the wound, but it seemed impossible to penetrate the skull reinforced by a Jogonot procedure. Bullets were buried in his forehead and various spots in his head.
His cheeks were deeply lacerated, exposing teeth even without opening his mouth, and it seemed difficult to breathe through his broken nose as colorful breaths kept pouring out.
However… there was a more significant wound.
“…I can’t see well. Did those bastards turn off the lights…?”
“………”
Horatio bit his lip. He couldn’t help it.
Where his sharp eyes should have been… only crimson blood and flesh streamed down to the sides.
If the optic nerves were completely destroyed, it would be challenging to regain sight without Enema’s top-grade regenerative treatment services; simple treatment capsules or serums wouldn’t suffice. And it was unlikely that they had hundreds of thousands of credits for surgical enhancements or equipment reinvestment.
Thus, the satisfied gaze I encountered in the hotel. The shimmering eyes he displayed when fighting. The light within him, which seemed so hard and unyielding, was now gone forever.
Receiving a Jogonot procedure results in being reborn with a body completely different from the past. Since it reconstructs and grows nearly every part of the body, it makes sense. But if my memory serves me right, the only part that remained as it was should have been the eyes… How would he feel now that those were taken from him…?
“…Later, I’ll give you some prosthetic eyes that will do the trick. How about vision powers, huh…?”
“……It would be better to live blind. …Cough! Don’t even think about taking me to the same clinic you went to….”
I could only admire the two of them, who still had the energy to joke in this situation.
At one point, standing on the edge of death, I had briefly given up and closed my eyes. In contrast, I had witnessed the miserable end of a beast begging for its life and killed a lawless man resentful until the end.
…This is their strength. The readiness to face obstacles in life without avoidance. A light stemming from a different origin than the desperation I held. A pearl formed in the most dismal of environments.
Brrrr…!
With a low vibration, Horatio’s implants began to glow again.
Yes, nothing is over yet. The suppression team heading towards 7th Avenue displayed the strongest firepower and quick processing, but our side isn’t exactly weak either. Moreover, Paradise awaits the treasure team outside, so time is on our side…!
Boom!!
Daredevil leaped up.
Even for someone like me who had no intention of remaining a bystander, lying on the uneven steps like Domino, I set the rifle’s muzzle at the end. Whatever these bastards are planning, the price for trying to stab Mega Cop in the back will be horrific.
– This is the returning recovery team!! Right now……! –
“That absolutely cannot happen…!!”
The commander of the enemies, who had foolishly maintained an encirclement with the ballistic shield, proudly kicked a box toward us. In his hand was a foreboding detonator.
Another light source was added to the basement filled with Daredevil’s green glow. What emerged was a long coil engulfed in hazardous sparks, with various components stuck all over it.
““!!””
Before I could finish my distress signal or Horatio could crush the enemy, the red switch that brings disaster to civilization was pressed first.
Click…!
……————!!
“Shit…!!”
With the sound of wings fluttering, the world collapses.
A shockwave explodes, sending my body, which had been stuck to the ground, flying downwards alongside the white light.
Even if I wanted to take a fall, I had no idea what to do while tumbling down these steps.
I tried to cover my head with my hands, but as my temples collided with the edge, my vision faded. The metallic sound echoed; it seems that I lost my rifle along with its owner as it tumbled down.
EMP (Electro Magnetic Pulse)… really…?
Did these crazy bastards burn down a thatched hut to jam communication channels…?! If this is done, all electronic devices without shielding measures would burn out, causing utter chaos….
“Ugh?!”
A flashlight… no, a tactical light mounted on the mercenaries’ rifles shone on my face.
I thought my vision had gone dark due to the blow to my head, but it turned out the underground passage’s lights had all gone out, leading to my misunderstanding.
Crack!!
“Cough…!”
“!! Domino!”
Domino, barely hanging onto the upper steps, was kicked by a boot and fell beside me.
Amidst the chaos, I attempted to draw my pistol upon seeing the disturbance, but with the barrels tightly aimed in my direction, I slowly withdrew my hand near the holster.
Omens is seriously injured, and Domino is nearly out of action. Still, there is hope…!
…Wait, where is Horatio?
He had been moving fiercely, so it’s odd for him to be this quiet.
…Carefully scanning the surroundings, I spotted the green figure that had also fallen down to this level.
He lay there in the dark passage, like a coffin where the dead are stored, devoured by the abyss.
“Ah….”
The internal circuit struck directly by the electromagnetic pulse is physically burnt by the current generated.
So what happens to a person whose body is covered in implants? Especially with circuits near the brain, which is akin to a vital point…?
“……”
In a state resembling collapsing ash, Horatio twitched and convulsed.
Seeing him scratching the ground with his nails… was luckily a relief. His hair appeared to have been charred, with bits of ash gently falling off from the advanced materials; nevertheless, he remained alive.
And… being alive means there is still a chance.
“How are you planning to survive while messing with Mega Cop…?”
“…The recovery team hacker has capability but no sense. Naturally, I’m working for another Mega Cop, aren’t I? Enema Corporation charged tens of millions of credits for the data and even provided bombs. The distribution is different, isn’t it?”
Talking to the mercenary, who seemed convinced of success while examining the fallen recovery team, elicited an absurd response.
…These shortsighted idiots. To a plan that Paradise Corporation likely invested a billion credits in, they’re only trying to sprinkle ashes with a single bomb and a promissory note.
“…Even if you blocked communication, you’ll die at the hands of Paradise if you go out of control before we return. …Well, even if you bring back data, you’ll be reduced to experimental rat status.”
“……You’re quite sharp for someone who looks like a pretty sexroid. It’s a pity time isn’t on my side…!”
While the threat remained intact, the mercenary’s hand confidently reached out.
“Memory card. This is prepared by Paradise, so it should be clean, right? Quickly find it and hand it over.”
“Hah…! If I hand it over, it’s clear I’ll be killed; why would I….”
Bang!!
“Grr…!!”
“!!”
The bullet fired at the gauntlet ricocheted luckially to an empty spot. Yet even from that mild shock, Omens emitted a sound like he was coughing blood.
“This isn’t negotiation. You’re not in a position to do that.”
“……”
My mind whirls in a loop, and a bitter taste lingers in my mouth.
I see no avenue for escape. This time, it’s my turn. I, the least injured among us, must do something, but numerous wrong answers drift like ghosts.
…I locked eyes with Domino, who had secretly pulled out a blue syringe. I blinked, silently conveying denial. What could a battered patient possibly do…?
Crack!!
“I did not… come this far just to die on such a momentous day…!!”
There was another foolish patient.
Regardless of whether his nails broke or not, Horatio, driven by anger, forced himself to scrape the ground and flip over.
“…Daredevil. Serves you right for getting all those crap implants. This is what happens when yellow-trash tries to show off after getting experimental procedures…!”
“Shut up! Are you just living off the color of your citizenship and sitting there with double contracts…?!”
Even as the muzzle turned towards him, he courageously raised his middle finger.
If half of him is made of machinery, he should consider himself lucky for surviving an EMP hit; it looks like he thinks he’s invincible.
If I stall for time, they will simply kill everyone and search through the bodies.
What the enemies want is Dust’s data; what I desire is the survival of the recovery team.
…Ha. Horatio… you definitely mentioned give and take, right? The scales are unbalanced, so I cannot help it. From the start, the items I could present were predetermined. …Surrendering obediently to someone else’s game has never been my style.
They say even animals have lessons to teach; I never imagined I’d put that into practice.
I cautiously slip my trembling hand inside my jacket. The traitors, wanting to pull their triggers, froze upon seeing my movement.
With reluctance, the memory card I pulled out made the bastards grin slyly.
Step by step, as their eyes fixated on the gift that promised a brilliant future, I began transferring the data.
Nervously shaking my hands and legs… right now…!!
“Ah…!!”
“?! That clueless crazy bitch—!!”
The beautifully slipped memory card fell from my hand, and the misstep of my combat boot ruthlessly stomped it to bits. Everyone gasped at the sight of the hundreds of thousands of credits that were so close, now reduced to shards.
Click…!
In that moment, I pointed the drawn Peacemaker at my head, and they stared at me with a dazed expression, as if questioning what kind of madness I was up to. I had thought I’d take a shot or two when I pulled my weapon, but the beginning was promising.
“……Now the extracted data is only in my head, so take me with you. In return… spare these three.”