SHIII VZZTT
I didn't waste time as my magic circuits flared to life and grabbed the knife provided by the canteen and stabbed it into the girl's throat.
After the knife penetrated her skin the reinforcement spell kicked in and I stabbed it further before running it horizontally on her air canals.
SPUURRTTT
THUD
She fell to the floor lifelessly face first as she continued to lose blood from the wound.
THUD THUD THUD THUD
However she wasn't the only one to fall down. Half the students inside the canteen also fell down to the ground and the rest were just staring aimlessly in the air.
I looked again at the girl I stabbed, she was a brown skinned girl with glasses and light purple hair.
[HAHAHAHA! Good job, brat, way to go.] Gilgamesh's laughter echoed in my mind.
[You must be curious about what's happening.]
[No, not really.] I answered him honestly, I wasn't that interested in my surroundings anymore. I didn't really care about what was happening to them.
[Yeah, my bad for expecting too much. Anyway there's a magus inside of your school.] Gilgamesh gave a "rhetorical" laugh before telling me something I didn't really expect. For all I knew they might have been put to sleep by him after all instead of this other person, not that I minded if they saw me killing that girl.
[Well, you might want to run to your classroom to grab your bag kid. The actual magus is coming in your direction and they are a Master as well.]
[If the actual one is coming, who did I kill then?] Did that mean I killed her just because? Well, I guess it could happen.
[That girl was just a homunculus. What? Don't tell me you are disappointed.]
[No, not really.]
After saying that I followed his suggestion and started sprinting from the canteen to my classroom, while the conversation might have looked long it lasted barely a second due to it happening inside of our minds.
However there was one thing I was curious about after he told me that the other person was a master.
[So they also have a Servant?] Did that mean I would have to fight them too? I didn't have anything against it but I doubted I could win.
[Exactly.]
I reached the entrance of the canteen and swung the door open when Gilgamesh's voice boomed inside of my mind.
[Duck!! Now!!]
Hearing his voice I didn't really question him and just squatted on the ground as soon as he told me to.
FWUSH CRACK
And right above my head passed something that cut a thin line horizontally on the walls of the canteen. I guess that was not gonna be good, right?
[Come on, run kid. As it's your first time in a battle I will do you a favor and give you instructions.]
From my crouching position I sprinted through the door and ran with all my strength. In front of me just ten meters from the door was an intersection that led both forward, left and right.
For my classroom the shortest route would be by going forward.
[Jump left.] Gilgamesh's instructions warned me once again.
I ditched my idea and just jumped to the left as he said.
FWUSH
Something passed by, I cannot see what that thing is but it must be the same thing that slashed the walls before. I continued running through the hallway on the left, I now understood why he told me to go left. While the road is longer there are more turns, I couldn't possibly hope to avoid that thing when I couldn't even see it on a straight road.
[The thing you just avoided is a thread like thing, its diameter is that of a micron, which is why you cannot see it with your bare eyes. You are lucky she is using most of it to wrap the school in a bounded field as the maximum length that thread can reach is five kilometers.]
That was an absurd range. Also, from his words, apparently my enemy is still a woman but it wasn't really important I guess.
[She can only use around three hundred meters of it now and is being quite cautious because you killed her little thing before. Use that time to reach your bag and wear the scarf. That is your objective for now, if you can retrieve the scarf you could stand a chance at defeating the enemy.]
'Oh, so that's why he wanted me to go to my classroom.' As I realized his intent I took a turn to the right, somehow that thing didn't come for my back once again.
[It's not looking good for you, kid.] Gilgamesh suddenly said telepathically.
"Hm?" I didn't respond through the link but I was curious about what he meant.
[Your opponent's pretty smart, she is aiming to intercept you with a sneak attack after cutting off your path with her remaining thread.]
[What do I do then?]
[Oh, don't worry I will just give you instruction if you need it, also another homunculus is about to jump you from the window on your left in four seconds so I suggest you rake that broom on your right and hurl it to your left in the center of the window in front of it as fast as you can.]
Listening to him I looked for the broom that was in front of me when I was running.
SHIIII
I took it and with a speed that surprised even me I connected two circuits to it as soon as I picked it up. I quickly started to thrust it to my left to throw it.
BANG
Before the broom completely left my hand another brown skinned girl that looked just like the one I killed before broke through the window using her body.
TRUUKK
However, thanks to my preemptive attack I struck her first, hitting her in the neck and sent her back out of the window. The handle of the broom ended up snapping in half but it should still be fine to use, I think.
I didn't wait for her to get back up and started running again, the stairs weren't much further.
[No, go to your right and continue on the hallway, those aren't safe anymore.]
"!?" Briskly stumbling on my steps I changed direction and continued my sprint to the right.
However, there was a certain problem I couldn't help but realise from this change in direction. Another girl who looked similar to the one I just threw out before apart from her hair style was running straight in my direction from the other end of the hallway with incredible speed and we were going to meet soon.
Also she had a sword in her hand.
[What do I do?]
[She is feinting you by overly showing her weapon, she is probably going for a kick. She doesn't actually possess intelligence and works on programmed commands. When she rises her sword just dive along the ground.]
And as he finished speaking I reached striking distance for the girl, she actually moved her sword to prepare for a slash but I ignored it as Gilgamesh told me and jumped low on the ground.
FWUSH
And a kick did indeed pass over my head I avoided by skiddling along the floor. Just like he said it would, it was almost like Gilgamesh could see the future…well, he told he me could but-
'I thought he said he couldn't see the future anymore, how did he do that?'
[Yeah, I know, I am amazing.] Gilgamesh boasted in my mind but I didn't say that inside our shared connection.
[...How did you know what I was thinking?] Could he read my mind?
[Focus on running.] He admonished me, not that I actually stopped running. I reached another crossroad in the hallway. [Turn left.]
I turned to the left path but the girl I hit with a broom jumped inside, from an open window this time though. She landed on the ground while holding something that looked like a drum stick of an old drum with a cloth wrapped on the tip.
From behind I could hear the other girl catching up, I was trapped between the two girls. 'What do I do now?'
[JUMP FORWARD SOLDIER!] I was broken from my daze by a scream full of "excitement" from Gilgamesh.
When I heard his voice I just stopped thinking, all I needed was to follow his instructions. I jump high using all the strength and momentum from my run.
BOOM
Then in that same moment the girl with the drumstick hit the floor with it and a shockwave spread through the entire hallway, I could feel my ears ringing painfully and they now felt hot in my head but apart from that I don't think I received any other damage.
[When you land, run past her on her right side, she will try to hit so just turn around as soon as you pass her and reinforce the stick to meet her blow.]
I landed on the ground and resumed spinning forward passing the girl on her right side like he told me, somehow the ringing in my ears didn't affect my balance in the slightest.
SCREECH
My shoes made a screeching sound as I turned around as soon as I passed by her side. And of course she was already swinging her drumstick at me with ease thanks to its abysmally low weight. I barely had time to raise the half of a stick that remained from the broom to barely meet the blow.
SHIIIIII
I tried hastily reinforcing the stick and somehow I connected the three circuits to it in a single movement. I never succeeded once at connecting three of them despite trying my all yesterday but for whatever reason I accidentally did it now in a single instant before the two sticks met.
BOOM
When the sticks met a shockwave passed through the one in my hand as it shattered effortlessly and I was blown away from her from the sheer power of it making me roll against the floor.
[Get up brat, run up those stairs.] Thanks to the distance that was created between the two of us due to her shockwaves I was now in front of another flight of stairs to the first floor.
"Huff, huff." I quickly got up on my feet as my lungs sucked for as much air as they could and dashed for the stairs.
I started climbing the first few steps with both my hands and feet before I was steady enough to run only on my legs once again. I could hear the steps of the two girls following me from behind.
Finally I reached the end of the stairs and reached the first floor.
[Tch, get away from there! They are coming from below.] As soon as I took my first step Gilgamesh's voice came to warn me.
[What?] What did he mean by that? And where do I throw myself at? He didn't tell me where to go.
I froze because for the first time I had not received a clear command and I wasn't sure about what to do, so the next moment–
CRACK
BOOOOOM
The floor exploded and I was hit by the exploded chunks of the floor as the girl wielding the sword came from below followed by the one with the drumstick by jumping through the flying pebbles.
My face and arms were slightly bruised from the hit i took from chunks of the floor but the problem was that now I was blocked the stair while the two girls blocked my path to the hallway by blowing the ground, they now stood on the other end of the hole and looked at me apparently trying to figure out my next move.
[Your enemy is smarter than what I gave her credit for, but why did you stand still back there?] Gilgamesh asked me with a baffled tone.
[I-I didn't know where to go…I had no direction…]
[...Haaaa. Well, I guess I was expecting too much from a novice after all.] He just sighed in what I believed was his "frustration".
Somehow I felt a strange lump settle in my throat as he said those words.
[Don't think too much of it, you are doing very well actually. Now stand where you are, that girl is using her string to directly control both of them herself now, she seems to be overestimating your ability thanks to my callouts, we will use that to our advantage, so recover your breath for a second.]
The strange thing I felt in my throat didn't go away but I still followed his instructions and took in long breaths to recover some of my strength.
Many words might have been said but thanks to the speed of this method of communication barely any time actually passed since they broke the floor, as Gilgamesh said they seemed to be watching out for my next move for now.
[Listen here, little mongrel, they are both too fast and too strong for you to defeat head on. If you reached your bag it might have been different but now it's too late to cry over spilled milk. A confrontation with them is now inevitable in this position, so we will make some sacrifices.] Gilgamesh's voice "calmed" down as he explained the situation.
[...How do I do that?] This time I tried to be more precise in asking for instruction… I should try to avoid situations like the one from before.
[See that fire extinguisher that got knocked down not far away from your feet?]
[Yes.] I looked and saw a red CO2 extinguisher.
[Use your reinforcement spell on it and then overload it to make the tank explode.]
He explained using simple words and I could somewhat understand what he meant but there was one problem.
[...I-I don't know how to do that.] I never did something like that intentionally before, I didn't know how to make it work like that.
[...Then figure it out now. Or else…] Gilgamesh stopped momentarily.
THUMP
My heart seemed to have given a loud beat, one louder than any other I have ever heard in my life.
[...you will die.] His voice sounded extremely "cold" now.
THUMP
It was strange, I certainly didn't "fear" death and yet I could feel body getting heavier at his words.
I wasn't sure what it was that made me feel this way or what this feeling even was in the first place.
"Huff, huff…." I had to do something but I didn't know how to. I picked up the fire extinguisher and activated reinforcement on it.
SHIIIII
Two circuits connected to it in a single second once again.
The two girls took it as a signal and jumped at me at the same time.
[Don't let the one with the sword hit the tank or you, it's a vorpal blade that makes the things it strikes weaker and more fragile. She will strike diagonally from your left shoulder to right hip.]
I ducked under her slash thanks to his warning, barely managing to avoid her attack despite the disparity in our speed.
However that was nowhere near enough to survive now, there was a reason why Gilgamesh told me to succeed or die.
[...She's gonna kick you now kid.]
THWACK
And kick me she did.
I felt my ribcage give in under the pressure of the strike.
CRACK
I think it snapped something too.
Oh and also she wasn't alone.
[The other one is aiming for your head!]
His voice ringed in my head as my body hit the wall on the staircase.
The girl with the drumstick was already onto me now. If I were to parry her attack with the extinguisher the tank would explode and kill me too, that's why Gilgamesh asked to use magecraft to make it explode in a controlled manner.
Also, I am not even sure I would be fast enough to parry her attack.
'Maybe…maybe….'
'Maybe…Senpai would have been able to do it.' I briefly thought back to one of two strange encounters of my last few days for an instant.
A boy not much older than myself, with red hair and missing an arm. Under those peach trees he–
'You know, Reinforcement is not really a flashy spell, not that I know of many other spells cough, but it's pretty handy and when you connect enough circuits to an object it pretty much becomes a part of your body. I also struggled a lot learning it so don't get discouraged, you aren't the only one who had a hard time on it at least right, when the right stimulus comes it will come naturally because that's the origin of magecraft…I think at least. My father said it was at least…' The image of the red haired boy scratching his chin thoughtfully with a slight blush on his cheeks appeared in my mind right then.
SHIIII
'Wait…' My mind stilled in place and somehow I felt like I finally understood his words.
'Ah…I see it now Senpai, you had taught it to me already. That's why I was getting better at connecting circuits as they attacked me, magecraft is all about–'
A third circuit connected again.
SHIIII
A fourth circuit connected to the tank and then.
'–SUICIDE.'
BOOM
The bottom of the tank exploded and the compressed CO2 hit the drum stick girl in the guts and blew her back as a white fog like cloud surrounded the staircase.
'...Also, I don't really know where you got a knife like that but anything that might come from the same place is pretty much an incredible object on its own, so reinforcing them will make them even more incredible but reinforcing things like that is much harder than normal ones but if you can do it I think it would be awesome. Even if were things just like–'
[!!!] I heard a gasp from the other end of the mental link with Gilgamesh.
[Brilliant work brat. Now run downstairs we need to pick a few objects to use as a distraction for them.] Gilgamesh's voice boomed in my head as he seemed to be cheering.
He also told me the new instructions but…
But…
But… this time it was wrong.
[...There's no need. I already have everything that I need.]
[?]
Saying so I removed the black school overcoat of my uniform and raised the sleeves of my shirt to my elbows.
FWUSH
[Don't just stand there, the one with the sword is coming for you, she's aiming for your heart. Jump to your left.]
I should have listened to his orders, I was his property after all, but I knew it would have just been me making things harder for him as he tried to keep me alive like this.
Senpai already gave me the solution so I decided to just share it with him too.
[No, I think I can block it.] I knew I could.
[What?]
And I had to.
After all, if I am a tool I should be at least even just slightly useful, right?
From the mist the figure of the sword wielding girl appeared. She was already in a thrusting position. She was too fast and skilled at using her sword for me to ever predict where she would even strike me, even more so for a thrust compared to a slash. A slash is a line so it is easier to predict compared to a thrust that is essentially a point.
But Gilgamesh already told me where she was going to hit me.
So despite her being stronger, faster and better than me at any other imaginable aspect there was one where I was better though not for my own merit.
But it didn't matter.
SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Five circuits connected–
'–the simple clothes you are wearing.'
–to the jacket I held in my right hand.
My hand moved to cover my chest and her sword bolted up to pierce my heart.
FWUSH
The two finally met–
CRAAAAAAAANKKKK
–And the blade shattered from hitting my fist.
***
Hello sorry for the delay was busy.
Anyway I kind of forgot to say this last chap but with the previous one we officially started day 3 of the war.
After a very short day 1. And a very long day 2.
We finally changed the date once again. There should have been another chap on day 2 but I made it into an Interlude because we were spending way too much time in there.
Anyway the boy is experiencing something akin to a jujujumping on himself, but he is th eo the receiving end of it.
Well, it happens.
Anyway leave some comments and revies and hopefully a few powerstones too.
Yes I misspelleded reviews.