Chapter 9: Kazuma Makes His Move
While the battle was taking place at the Game Center, Kazuma and the others were running around inside the facility, trying to escape outside the building.
“Damn it! This place too!”
Akatsuki, who was running at the front, tried to open an emergency exit door, but there was no sign of it opening. He even tried to force it open by ramming his body against the door, but the door didn’t budge an inch.
“No good, huh…”
“Aren’t the only options left the main entrance or the back exit on the first floor?”
“But we saw those Ivera Church guys many times on our way here, right? It’s probably impossible…”
Akatsuki gave up, and Taichi mentioned the remaining exits, but Kousuke pointed out the reality, and the three of them were disheartened. Faced with a situation where they could do nothing, the three held their heads in their hands. Amidst this, Kazuma was troubled, all alone.
Should he trust them and teach them the magic he possessed? If he did, they could probably break through this desperate situation. However, the question was what would happen afterward.
If they kept quiet, there would be nothing to worry about, but if even one of them spoke out, Kazuma’s position would become precarious. The sole magic user in a world overflowing with Gifts. He would undoubtedly draw attention. Moreover, suspicious researchers would emerge, eager to unravel his power. If things went wrong, he might even be feared as an alien entity.
If that happened, Kazuma would have no place to belong. People fear the unknown. Even more so if it seems capable of causing harm.
He had finally returned to his original world and decided to live peacefully, yet this was too much. As he thought about it, anger began to well up inside Kazuma.
(Those damn bastards! Threatening my youth like this, I won’t forgive them!)
Kazuma felt like his accumulated frustrations were about to explode. Even when a stranger was about to be killed in front of the elevator, he had wanted to jump out, but he had endured until the very last moment. If, in that scene, the Ivera Church man had pulled the trigger, he would have moved instantly.
However, he had reached the limit of his patience. Kazuma made a decision. To protect his peaceful life, he would defeat the Ivera Church.
The action Kazuma took then was to lie to the three who had become his friends.
“Everyone, this is bad! An Ivera Church guy is coming this way!”
“Eh!?”
The three, startled all at once by Kazuma’s words, panicked because there was nowhere to hide.
“I’ll create a diversion! Everyone, escape in the meantime!”
As if mustering his courage, Kazuma dashed out. The three tried to stop him, but Kazuma was already running. Having started running, Kazuma looked back at them.
“Everyone, thank you! For inviting me to hang out! And I’m sorry! That inviting someone like me caused you to go through this!”
“Ah, hey! Satsuki!”
“Satsuki-kun!”
“Satsuki!”
After expressing his gratitude and apology, Kazuma ran away from the three. On his way, he defeated an Ivera Church man who was acting alone and stripped him of his clothes and mask. He tied up the unconscious Ivera Church man and hid him in a toilet supply closet, so he wouldn’t make a fuss when he woke up.
Fortunately, the unconscious man had a similar build to Kazuma, so he could wear the clothes without difficulty. Since he was also disguised, Kazuma, confident he wouldn’t be found out, put on the mask and ran with determination.
“Alright, let’s do this.”
First, to ensure the safety of the three, Kazuma wiped out the Ivera Church members on their current floor. He knocked them all unconscious and took their weapons.
“Zero combat-type Gifted. Even if they wake up now, they won’t be much of a threat.”
Since none of the unconscious Ivera Church members, both men and women, were combat-type Gifted, as long as their weapons were taken, they posed no threat. Even if they got up and tried to attack, they wouldn’t be a match if everyone ganged up on them.
“On to the next.”
The building had eight floors, and Kazuma was on the fifth, so he decided to start by annihilating the enemies on the upper floors. He ran up the stairs without using the elevator and annihilated the enemies on the sixth floor. During that, he was spotted by civilians, but he lied, saying he wasn’t an enemy but an infiltrating spy, and managed to get by.
With that momentum, he proceeded to knock out Ivera Church members on the seventh and eighth floors. Luckily, when Kazuma defeated Ivera Church members, civilians would restrain them, so Kazuma could proceed to the next area with peace of mind.
Kazuma, having annihilated the enemies from the fifth to the eighth floor, headed to the fourth floor and encountered a fated opponent. It was the crazy man who had gotten off the elevator when Kazuma and the others were trying to board it and escape. Judging by his clothes, there was no doubt. Kazuma confronted the man.
“Oh? You are…?”
Apparently, the man thought Kazuma was an ally, as he lowered his weapon and approached. But Kazuma didn’t let down his guard. His intuition, honed in the other world, whispered that the man before him was dangerous. If he showed an opening here, he would be the one to get killed. The moment he thought that, the man in front of him opened fire.
“Kk…!”
Thanks to being on guard, Kazuma was able to react and successfully dodged the bullet. However, this completely revealed him as an enemy.
“I don’t know who the hell you are, but we didn’t bring any Body Enhancement-type Gifted…! Who the hell are you!”
“…”
Even with a Handgun pointed at him, Kazuma didn’t answer. This was because he feared being identified by his voice. Of course, the opponent didn’t know Kazuma, so there was no way he could be identified, but there was always a chance. Therefore, Kazuma said nothing.
“Tch, silent treatment, huh. Ahh, so damn annoying. Those damn brats look down on me, and now some incomprehensible guy shows up…”
He seemed considerably irritated, scratching his head vigorously. Eventually, he stopped moving abruptly. Just when Kazuma thought he had suddenly looked down, his arms hanging limply, he twisted his neck sharply and glared at Kazuma.
“Right then, guess I’ll kill ya! Ahhahahahahahaha!!!”
He madly pulled the Handgun’s trigger, trying to shoot Kazuma to death. However, to Kazuma, a Handgun was no more than a toy. Dodging it was effortless.
“Oh? Then how about this?”
The man reached behind him and took out a grenade. Seeing that, Kazuma backstepped to create distance, but the man pulled the grenade’s pin and charged at him in a suicide attack.
“Wha-!?”
“Hyahahahahaha! I finally heard your voice!”
Kazuma couldn’t hide his surprise at the suicide attack and let out a sound. The man, clutching the grenade and rushing at Kazuma, laughed maniacally and let out a cry of joy upon hearing Kazuma’s voice. The next moment, an explosion occurred, and the man’s body blew apart, sending pieces of flesh flying at Kazuma.
“Kk… He’d go this far?”
“Oooi, oi, oi~. You should be sadder~. A guy just got turned into mincemeat right in front of you, y’know~?”
“!!!?”
Kazuma, who had shielded himself from the flying flesh with his hand, was staring in shock at the mangled remains of the man when he was addressed from behind. The voice was identical to that of the man who had just blown up and died before Kazuma’s eyes. Startled by this, Kazuma turned around, and there stood a man in the exact same clothes and of the same height as the previous one, aiming a Handgun.
“Game over.”
A dry pang echoed through the floor. A normal Body Enhancement-type Gifted would have died. But Kazuma was the Hero who had defeated the Demon Lord in another world, and the one and only magic user in this world. Just before the bullet hit, Kazuma created a Barrier with magic.
“Huh?”
This time, it was the man’s turn to be shocked. The bullet he had fired at Kazuma was blocked by something like an invisible wall, and Kazuma was unharmed. The man was sure he had aimed for the space between Kazuma’s eyebrows and had thought him dead, yet there Kazuma stood before him, unscathed. It was only natural for him to be surprised.
“Hey, hey, are you a dual wielder?”
The man was asking about Gifts. As a rule, a person basically has only one Gift, but rarely, someone with two is born. The probability of someone being born with two Gifts is one in a million. They weren’t something one encountered easily. That’s why the man, unable to hide his surprise, was asking Kazuma if he had two.
“Hah, your specialty, the silent treatment, huh. Well, whatever. Your Gifts are probably Body Enhancement and some kind of defensive wall or barrier. My current equipment isn’t a good match for that. I guess I’ll retreat for now.”
Saying that, the man pointed the Handgun at his own head. Just as he was about to pull the trigger, the man shouted at Kazuma.
“My name is Amrutat of the Infinite, from the Ivera Church! If fate allows, let’s meet again.”
Amrutat of the Infinite. After saying that, the man pulled the trigger and shot himself through the head. With a thud, Amrutat fell, and a pool of blood formed.
“Amrutat of the Infinite… Just what kind of Gifted is he?”
Although it ended with many questions remaining, Kazuma had succeeded in repelling Amrutat, the greatest threat.
Having repelled Amrutat, Kazuma descended to the lower floors to defeat the remaining Ivera Church members. However, an unexpected situation occurred there.
“Kkkh!”
The moment he descended to the third floor, a fireball flew towards Kazuma. Kazuma, who dodged it instantly, turned his face in the direction the fireball came from, and there was Yukihime, her palm aimed at Kazuma.
“It seems you had more allies.”
“Dodging Yukihime’s Gift? Not bad at all.”
“Geez! Why are you praising the enemy?!”
“Ah, sorry. I didn’t mean to, it just slipped out.”
“Mmph! I’ll definitely hit you next time!”
Kazuma was bewildered by the harmonious scene unfolding before him. Realizing they considered him an enemy, Kazuma decided to tell a lie, trying his best not to arouse suspicion.
“Wait. It’s true I’m dressed like someone from the Ivera Church, but I’m not with them. I’m a member of the National Defense Force, infiltrating the Ivera Church. So, could you please stop attacking?”
It might have sounded like a pathetic lie, but it was the best Kazuma could come up with. Seeing Kazuma with both hands raised, signaling he had no intention to attack, the two girls were perplexed.
They couldn’t tell if he was lying or not. But he had his hands up, showing he didn’t intend to attack. It was certainly an action unthinkable for the Ivera Church members they’d encountered so far, but he was still suspicious.
“In that case, could you show us some proof? If you’re from the National Defense Force, you should have something to prove it.”
“I don’t have it. I entrusted it to the country when I infiltrated the Ivera Church. Just in case I was found out, you see.”
“I see. However, with things as they are, we cannot trust you.”
“Then, I’d like you to let me go this time.”
Hearing those words, Yukihime and Karin began to confer right in front of Kazuma, discussing whether they should really let him go. After a short while, the two finished their discussion and turned to face Kazuma.
“Very well. We’ve decided to let you go.”
“I’m telling you now, don’t try anything funny. It’s not like we completely trust you.”
“That’s fine with me. It’s not much, but as thanks, I’ll take care of the Ivera Church members on the lower floor.”
With those words, Kazuma ran off, away from the two. The two girls left behind watched his retreating back as they talked.
“Will he be alright on his own?”
“Who knows? But if he’s infiltrating alone, he must be strong, right?”
After confirming Kazuma was gone, Yukihime and Karin proceeded to protect the civilians inside the building.