"Ugh! They took Alice!"
"Calm down, Momoi. It's part of the plan."
"Alice-chan… hang in there, we'll save you soon!"
"One hit, huh… Well, looks like the first trap worked out nicely."
Mash's strategy: while Alice and Veritas members staged a diversion, they'd charge straight for the Seminar's mirror.
"So far, so good… Sensei, how's prep?"
"Ready to roll." (Juggling an iron staff)
"Good."
"We'll make this work… for Alice and the others' sacrifice!"
"Nobody died, big sis!"
"Mash's party… to conquer Seminar's dungeon… let's roll!" (Raising staff)
"Let's roll!!"
"More tension, please… ugh!"
Midori clutched her head at Mash and Momoi's lack of urgency, but their levity eased her nerves, lightening her mood.
Mash's team advanced toward Seminar's stronghold.
Minutes after infiltrating, Harem contacted Midori's device.
"Sensei, big sis, Harem-senpai says they trapped Akane-senpai!"
"Nice. Fingerprint system's working perfectly."
Veritas member Maki and Engineering's Kotori acted as decoys, successfully locking up Maid Club's Akane. During Alice's initial assault, Veritas hacked the fingerprint system, letting Mash's team roam freely.
"Student council's officers are pinned down… we're the only ones moving in this tower!"
"The latest security looks slightly weaker than Engineering's usual. Worked like a charm."
"They didn't suspect it was Engineering's tech. Nice touch!"
"Let's march right in."
The trio pressed forward boldly, but resistance awaited. A swarm of robots—flying drones and small walkers—emerged to intercept.
"More robots!"
"I'll clear a path. Full speed ahead!"
"Got it!"
Mash sprinted ahead, sliding with force—Zzaa!—scattering the robots.
"Gotcha… hmph."
He grabbed a floating drone barehanded, hurling it into others. Seminar's robots were no match for Mash.
"All done!"
"Thank goodness for Sensei! We can actually fight!"
"I'll take point. Save bullets, use them if I'm in trouble."
"Got it!"
"That'll probably never happen… oh well."
Mash tucked the twins under his arms, speed-walking toward their goal—faster and conserving their energy.
"By the way, Akane-senpai's trapped with Maki… where are the others?"
"No clue… but I'd rather not run into them."
"Stairs ahead. Zip your lips."
"Roger!"
Mash climbed the stairs with vigor, unaware of a lone girl watching, sniper rifle in hand.
"That's Shalle's Sensei… that mushroom-haired guy really catches bullets barehanded? If so… I want to test him."
"Let's walk from here. It's not fair to Sensei."
"I don't mind."
"Here it is, big sis. The shutter, please."
"On it! ♪"
Momoi authenticated the shutter, humming cheerfully. Mash felt her energy lift his own spirits, but—
Crash!
A bullet shattered the window above Momoi, embedding in the wall—an anti-materiel round, not anti-personnel.
"What was that!?"
"Are sniper rounds that powerful?"
"That's for equipment, not people!"
"How bad is it?"
"If a non-Halo person gets hit, their bones shatter, flesh bursts… minced."
"Yikes."
"That's bad! But Sensei can catch bullets, right? We're fi—"
Crash!
"Eek!?"
"Think, big sis! The robots used anti-personnel rounds. These are way stronger and faster!"
"…No choice then—alright."
"Don't stand up, Sensei!"
"Stay hidden. I'll draw their fire."
Mash stepped out, exposing himself to the anti-materiel rounds. A hit would pulverize a normal human's bones and flesh, as Midori described.
(Is he seriously facing it head-on? I missed on purpose as a warning…)
Karin, the dark-skinned Maid Club member, was baffled by Mash's boldness. Akane's tales seemed like lies, but if Mash died from a hit…
"Let's test it."
Karin aimed at Mash's leg, counting down.
Three, two, one—Bang!
The bullet rocketed toward Mash's leg. Karin's heart pounded—had she just doomed him?
Through her scope, she froze.
"It's coming for my leg."
Mash tensed his leg, timing it perfectly.
"Hmph!"
He kicked the bullet back with a whoosh!
(He returned it with a kick!? That speed… impossible! Kicking it back at all is insane!)
Karin scoped Mash again. His shoe was shredded, but his leg was barely scratched—no broken bones, no torn flesh.
"Hm, stings more than deflecting a cannonball with my backhand."
"That's not normal!!"
"Did you just say you deflected a cannonball?"
"It came from that direction…"
Mash ditched his ruined shoes, pondering.
"Kicking's slower than catching… but it'd punch a hole in the wall. Alright, tools it is."
(What's he grabbing… a staff? Iron?)
Mash drew Proteus, his iron staff. Karin braced—would he throw it?
Crunch.
(He extended it? Wait, it's iron!)
Twist.
(He bent it…!? No way, that's—)
Thud!
"A glove!?"
Karin's jaw dropped. Bending iron was absurd enough, but—
"Why's it heavier? And why a glove?"
Engineering's work was terrifying.
(Not his pace—I won't lose to a glove!)
Karin aimed at Mash's arm, firing without hesitation.
Catch!
(Now his chest!)Bang!
Catch!
(Stomach!)Bang!
Catch!
(Face!)Bang!
Catch!
(Thigh!)Bang!
Catch!
"Why can he catch them!?"
Mash snatched every bullet with the glove, effortlessly blocking Karin's shots, even at tricky angles.
"He's catching bullets too fast to track, without breaking a sweat—Midori, record this!"
"Now!?"
"This footage is game gold!"
"Not the time!"
"It's easy if they don't curve."
(My sniping can't touch Sensei… I'll aim for the twins—)
As Karin shifted her aim, Mash pinched a caught bullet between his fingers.
"Shoulder Magic."
(He's throwing it!?!)
"Missile Throwing!" Whoosh!
The bullet rocketed back, smashing Karin's rifle, Hawkeye, destroying its barrel.
"…Guess Akane's stories were true. Sorry, Akane, he's too much… What even is that weapon?"
"That's our invention, the iron staff Proteus."
"An invention…!"
"Good evening. Got great combat data. Thanks."
Behind Karin stood Utaha, Engineering's leader, aiming her invention, Thunder-chan.
"You waited 'til the fight ended, didn't you?"
"Correct. Proteus data acquired. Very satisfied." (Beaming)
"…Somehow, that really pisses me off."
Mash's team learned of Karin's defeat via comms.
"It was Karin-senpai… With Sensei, no one can beat us!"
"We're clear for now. Let's move. Sensei, you're up!"
"Yep."
Mash tucked the twins under his arms again, charging toward their goal.
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