Chapter 17: Kazuma Dies
Seeing the four split into two groups, Inoue and Tamura were arguing about which one to chase.
“Hey, which one should we chase? That group is all girls.”
“Idiot! Sure, that one would be more fun, but the one who’s alone is from the Support Course, right?! Let’s go for him!”
“Huh? But we can just leave the Support Course guy alone, can’t we? He can’t do anything anyway.”
“Are you stupid? If you’re going to target someone, you start with the small fry.”
“Ah, you’ve got a point! Then, let’s hurry up and waste that Support Course bastard, and then go after the group of three!”
These were dangerous words, but fitting for their roles as terrorists. Well, from an ordinary person’s perspective, their words and actions might not quite reach the level of terrorists, but they would likely seem like potential criminals.
Inoue and Tamura chased after Kazuma, who was fleeing alone. However, due to the initial distance between them and Kazuma’s extraordinary stamina, they couldn’t catch up.
“Hey, what’s going on?! We’re not catching up at all!”
“We’re not Body Enhancement types either, so our running speeds aren’t that different!”
“But the distance hasn’t shrunk at all since we started!”
“Damn it. He might have an absurd amount of stamina! It’s annoying, but let’s slow down and just tail him so we don’t lose sight of him!”
And so, the two chasing Kazuma decided not to try and close the unshrinking gap, but to wait for Kazuma to tire out.
Meanwhile, Kazuma noticed that the running speed of the two chasing him had dropped, and to conserve his stamina, he also slowed his pace.
(Lucky. At this rate, I can keep running for a while.)
Kazuma, who had trained extensively in another world, wouldn’t lose to a long-distance runner in terms of stamina alone. In fact, if it was just running without any equipment, Kazuma possessed world-class stamina. The two chasing such a Kazuma would surely come to regret it.
“Hah… hah…”
“Wheeze… wheeze…”
The two running behind Kazuma were out of breath from having run continuously for so long. Their legs were already heavy, and they could barely move properly. Nevertheless, the reason they kept running without stopping was their pride in being chosen individuals.
Rather than just being in the Combat Course, boys and girls who awakened their Gifts during their impressionable years, around thirteen or fifteen, tended to fall into such patterns. It was the so-called “chuunibyou.” For some reason, they would mistakenly believe themselves to be special.
That, too, was probably unavoidable.
If one awakened a combat-type Gift, anyone would yearn to be a hero. Moreover, if such heroes actually existed, it wasn’t strange for anyone to dream that they too could become one. This was even more so because there were heroic figures in the National Defense Force who continuously fought Ibinom and protected the country.
(They’re surprisingly persistent. I’m getting tired too, so this might be bad…)
Kazuma, his faint hope of being able to escape completely now gone, showed impatience for the first time. He had maintained the distance without dropping his speed, but Inoue and Tamura had been more tenacious than expected, and Kazuma too was starting to feel fatigued.
(Still, for a Virtual Space, it’s incredibly realistic, isn’t it~)
That said, Kazuma, who still had plenty of energy left, was thinking about the Virtual Space. His experiences in the other world were valuable, but training in this Virtual Space wasn’t to be dismissed either. Since it allowed for experiences close to reality, if used well, it would be an ideal facility for Gifted to level up.
(This is bad. I’m about to hit my limit.)
Kazuma, who had been running while lost in thought, finally seemed to reach his limit, and his running speed gradually began to decrease. Realizing it was only a matter of time before the two behind him caught up, Kazuma glanced back. There, the two pursuers, so exhausted it was a miracle they were still moving, were chasing him.
“W-Wait~~~…”
“…”
Inoue, despite being wobbly and unsteady, shouted towards Kazuma. Tamura, running beside him, looked like he was on the verge of death. However, the fact that they were still moving their legs and chasing Kazuma showed they had some grit. In that respect alone, Kazuma’s impression of the two had changed from what he’d been taught.
After that, Kazuma continued running for a while longer, but he reached his limit and stopped. The two, finally seeing Kazuma halt, had the light return to their eyes and showed a final burst of effort as they headed towards him.
“Heh heh… Finally given up, huh?”
“Kill… I’ll kill you.”
It seemed Tamura was no longer conscious, or perhaps he had completely lost his mind. Seeing this, Kazuma’s impression of the two reverted to his original one. These two were indeed troublesome guys.
(They’re totally potential criminals, aren’t they…)
They were supposed to be playing the roles of terrorists as part of a class, but their expressions had become such that one could call them the real deal without issue. Tamura, for instance, looked as if he might be on some suspicious drugs. The way he was even drooling made Kazuma seriously think so. Running past their limits was commendable, but this was, frankly, terrifying.
(Now, what to do?)
Kazuma was torn between fighting or accepting defeat gracefully. The two in front of him were exhausted, so if Kazuma, from the Support Course, were to fight, he might be able to deceive onlookers. However, as expected, the Combat Course students weren’t so weak as to be defeated that easily.
While Kazuma was deliberating, Tamura placed his hand on the ground and activated his Gift.
“Uwah?! This is!”
It wasn’t that he hadn’t noticed, but he thought that dodging it would arouse suspicion, so Kazuma offered no resistance and was caught by the earthen hands that sprouted from the ground.
“Earth Manipulation. Now you can’t escape.”
Kazuma couldn’t hide his agitation at Tamura, who was speaking much more fluently than before.
“You can speak normally?!”
“Of course I can! It was your fault I ended up like that in the first place!”
“Eh? But I was just running?”
“Shut up! If you hadn’t run away, there wouldn’t have been any problem!”
“But I’m from the Support Course, so all I can do is run.”
“I know that much! Alright? Prepare yourself! You’ll regret making us suffer!”
The recovered Tamura, intending to punish Kazuma for the suffering he’d endured, used the earthen hands created by his Earth Manipulation to crush Kazuma’s legs.
“Ugh?!”
Both his legs suddenly became unusable, and unable to stand, Kazuma collapsed to the ground. Even if he tried to get up, his legs were a mangled mess. Seeing this, Kazuma was involuntarily surprised, as if impressed.
(Ooh! So this is what happens. I certainly don’t feel any pain, but given that last attack, this scene is plausible. Still, as expected of the Combat Course. They have no hesitation in attacking people.)
“Hahaha! Too scared to even make a sound, huh?!”
“Hey, Inoue. Go ahead and do that.”
“Yeah. I was pretty stressed out from before. Let’s have him help us relieve some stress!”
Saying that, Inoue pointed his palm at Kazuma, and a fireball about the size of a basketball shot out. The fireball directly hit Kazuma’s right arm, which burst vigorously into flames.
“How d’you like that! My fire!”
“Look at him! He’s frozen, can’t believe he’s being burned!”
Seeing Kazuma staring at his burning right arm, the two of them laughed.
(Are they psychopaths?! I mean, is it normal to go this far against a classmate? These guys aren’t potential criminals, they’re actual criminals. Is this okay? For students in the Combat Course to be like this?)
Since he felt no particular pain, nor was it hot, Kazuma was mostly thinking about other things—mainly about the two in front of him. Perhaps the reason Kaori and Megumi disliked them was because of these personalities. Kazuma certainly thought he wouldn’t want to deal with them either.
And so, Kazuma’s right arm turned to charcoal and became useless. Kazuma resigned himself to letting them do as they pleased.
“Hey, hey, what’s wrong? Too scared to even make a sound?”
“You were only energetic at the beginning! In the end, you Support Course guys are just that pathetic!”
They were saying whatever they pleased. Even if they were classmates, Kazuma wondered if it was necessary to go this far, clenching his remaining left hand tightly. However, while counterattacking here would be easy, considering the aftermath, all Kazuma could do was clench his fist in frustration.
“Tch, how boring. I wanted to hear him scream more.”
“Let’s just kill him already. It’d be better to hurry and go find the others, right?”
“Yeah. Well then, die.”
Deciding that Kazuma, who hadn’t screamed no matter how much they tormented him after the initial cry, was boring, the two gave up on torturing him and decided to look for the others.
Then, finally, as Inoue was leaving, he hurled a fireball at Kazuma. His entire body immediately went up in flames, and Kazuma received a death judgment, disappearing from the Virtual Space.