Chapter 20: The Nail Gun Symphony and the Tacticool Traitor part- 2
(Outstanding,) Ethan said, genuinely impressed. (You wiped the floor with them. Now, let us go have a chat with the Sergeant. He is in the Faculty Lounge at the end of the hall. He locked the door, remember?)
Hirano looked at the heavy steel door that separated him from his friends. His expression darkened. "He tried to kill me."
(He tried to NTR you, Hirano. He wanted to take Saya and Saeko. In my book, that is a capital offense. Break that door down. Use the System ability I just bought: 'Structural Analysis'. Shoot the hinges.)
Hirano walked to the door. He placed the muzzle of the nail gun against the top hinge.
"Knock knock," Hirano muttered.
.........…..
Location: The Faculty Lounge.
The room was tense. Saya Takagi, a genius with pink hair and a sharp tongue, was pacing back and forth. Saeko Busujima, the kendo captain with flowing purple hair and a wooden bokken sword, stood by the window, watching the chaos outside.
Sitting in the leather armchair was "Sergeant Slaughter." He was a tall man in camouflage fatigues, sporting a beret and a fake scar he had applied with makeup. He held an assault rifle that he clearly didn't know how to maintain properly.
"I am sorry," Slaughter said, bowing his head theatrically. "I tried to stop him. Hirano... he insisted on staying back. He said, 'Sergeant, take the girls to safety. I will hold them off.' He was a brave man."
Saya adjusted her glasses, her eyes red. "That idiot. Why would he do that? He is terrible at physical confrontation!"
"Adrenaline is a powerful thing," Slaughter sighed, standing up and walking toward Saya. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "He died so we could live, Saya. We shouldn't waste his sacrifice. We need to move on. I will protect you now. I promise."
He turned his gaze to Saeko. "You too, Saeko. You need a strong man to lead this group. Someone with military experience."
Saeko gripped her bokken. Her eyes were cold. "I did not hear any gunshots. Hirano had the nail gun. We should have heard the compressor."
Slaughter panicked internally. (Damn sharp woman. Think of a lie!)
" The screaming," Slaughter lied smoothly. "The zombies... they must have overwhelmed him instantly. He didn't even get a shot off. Poor bastard."
He stepped closer to Saya, his voice dropping to a seductive whisper—enhanced by his System's weak "Charisma Aura."
"Saya, look at me. You are scared. It is okay to be scared. Lean on me."
Saya looked at him. Her brilliant mind was clouded by grief and the subtle influence of his aura. "I... I just..."
BANG!
The upper hinge of the steel door exploded inward.
BANG!
The lower hinge followed.
The heavy steel door fell forward with a deafening crash, slamming onto the carpet. Dust billowed into the room.
Standing in the doorway, silhouetted by the flickering hallway lights, was Kohta Hirano. He was covered in black zombie blood. He looked like a demon from the pits of hell.
"Hirano?" Saya gasped, her hands flying to her mouth.
Hirano stepped over the fallen door. He didn't look at the girls. He looked straight at Slaughter.
"You said I was overwhelmed?" Hirano asked, his voice low and dangerous.
Slaughter's jaw dropped. "How... you should be dead! There were thirty of them!"
"Thirty-two," Hirano corrected. "I counted."
He raised the nail gun.
"You locked the door," Hirano stated.
Slaughter took a step back, raising his rifle. "Stay back! He is bitten! He is turning! Look at the blood on him!"
Saeko stepped forward, her eyes narrowing. "That blood is black and coagulated. It is zombie blood. He is not bleeding."
"He is delirious!" Slaughter screamed, his cool facade cracking. "I am the leader here! I say we put him down before he infects us!"
He leveled his rifle at Hirano.
(Hirano,) Ethan warned. (He has the safety off. He is going to shoot. Disarm him. Aim for the rifle barrel. Deflect it.)
Hirano didn't flinch. As Slaughter squeezed the trigger, Hirano fired a nail.
CLANG.
The nail struck the barrel of Slaughter's rifle, knocking the aim upward.
RAT-TAT-TAT.
Slaughter fired a burst into the ceiling, plaster raining down on his head.
"My turn," Hirano said.
He fired again. THWIP.
The nail flew through the air and pinned the sleeve of Slaughter's uniform to the bookshelf behind him.
"Gah!" Slaughter yelled, dropping the rifle as he was jerked backward.
THWIP.
Another nail pinned his other sleeve.
In two seconds, the "Sergeant" was crucified against the legal section of the faculty library, unhurt but completely immobilized.
Hirano walked forward calmly. He kicked the dropped rifle away.
"You do not know how to hold a weapon," Hirano criticized, looking at the rifle on the floor. "Your stance is amateurish. You lean back too much. And you didn't clean the ejection port. It would have jammed on the fourth round."
Saya stared at Hirano. She had never seen him like this. He wasn't the sweaty, nervous nerd anymore. He was... competent. Terrifyingly competent.
"Hirano?" Saya whispered. "Did... did he really lock you out?"
Hirano turned to her. His expression softened. "Yes. He triggered the fire alarm to call them. He wanted me dead so he could..." He paused, glancing at Slaughter. "So he could take lead of the group."
Saeko walked up to Slaughter. She looked at the nails pinning him to the shelf. "A precise shot. You missed his flesh by millimeters, Hirano-san."
"I did not want to waste ammo on trash," Hirano said coldly.
Slaughter struggled against the nails. "Listen! It was a mistake! I panicked! I am a soldier, sometimes hard choices have to be made!"
"You are not a soldier," Hirano said. He reached out and ripped the beret off Slaughter's head. "That beret is from a costume shop. The stitching is wrong. And your 'dog tags'..." Hirano yanked the chain from Slaughter's neck. "These are from a Call of Duty collector's edition."
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