Chapter 39: Second Match (7)

“They told me to stall for time up top, but…

More than Eve charging at me with her sword raised, that one sentence tightens around my heart harder.

“Time. Time isn’t on my side.”

Why did I even make the bold decision to jump in from orbit in the first place?

It was to minimize interference and strike the target fast before getting out.

But now?

Can I really hit my objective quickly, like I bragged to the others, if I’m getting blocked by just one QPD agent?

“I don’t have time to be stuck dealing with just Eve.”

If I stall even a little more here, the troops that occupied Sector 4 will catch up from behind, and the combat androids stationed at Virasion Tower in Zone 1 will arrive from the front.

I can’t let that happen.

While I was hesitating, Eve had already reached me, radiating streaks of blue light from her eyes.

She was now close enough that just swinging her sword could split me in half.

I jumped backward and fired a rifle with a new magazine as I flew.

As expected, every bullet disappeared without a trace, blocked by her Electromagnetic Shield.

That much, I had anticipated.

What I’d hoped was that the barrage would at least slow her down a bit—but Eve didn’t even flinch. She just kept charging like nothing happened.

“How much energy did that cost to block?”

I dumped 30 rounds of 200-grain (about 13g) bullets in just two seconds. Normally, that should’ve shaken the shield and drained a noticeable amount of power.

But my expectations were way off.

“It’s like nothing changed at all.”

Just how good are those android batteries? Through Engraved Vision, I could clearly see the energy transfer lines between Eve and the Androids—completely stable.

And no matter how fast I backpedal, I’m not faster than someone sprinting straight at me.

Eve was now only two steps away. Her sword slashed down from above in a crescent arc, aimed right at my skull.

At this range and speed, there’s only one way to dodge.

—Neural Overclock.

The instant I felt a sting in the back of my head, my consciousness and body accelerated unnaturally fast. I barely escaped the blade and the Electromagnetic Shield slashing at me like a plasma cutter.

Eve had wrapped her sword in the shield’s energy field, using it like a high-powered cutting tool.

—Neural Overclock disengaged.

Missing me, Eve’s sword instead vaporized a chunk of asphalt and swung back up using the recoil.

“01.”

“What the—did you actually use Neural Overclock in that short moment to dodge my attack?”

“That’s cheating.”

“Cheating? You’re one to talk.”

She’s the one siphoning energy from 30 androids, and she dares call me a cheater for using Overclock once?

Talk about shameless.

“Well, just activating and deactivating Neural Overclock probably cost you 5% of your total power. How long do you think you can keep dodging my attacks with such inefficient tricks?”

Yeah, we know each oth—Wait, no. I don’t really know her.

This always happens when I fight someone who knows me well.

My opponent can read every move I make and react accordingly, but I’m stuck fighting blind, knowing nothing about her.

Sure, I know Eve’s energy supply is nearly infinite… but what am I supposed to do with that info?

…Hold on.

“Is it really infinite?”

30 bullets, 200 grains each—that’s 6000 grains total, or around 390 grams.

To fully vaporize that much copper alloy at once… hmm… maybe around 4000 foot-pounds (about 3000 kilojoules) of energy?

Of course, instantly disintegrating bullets flying at Mach 3 probably takes more than just that, but even as a rough estimate…

Yeah. Compared to the external energy she’s getting from 30 Android Knights, 4000 foot-pounds is nothing.

That’s why her shield and supply lines look totally untouched.

But what about 4 tons? Not 6000 grains—4 metric tons of steel?

Could her shield handle that?

“Hey.”

Eve, who was walking toward me with her sword raised, frowned at the sudden call.

“Try blocking this.”

Rumble rumble rumble…

I grabbed onto the electric SUV I had been leaning on and, with a lot of grunting and whining, slowly lifted it up with both hands.

 This thing’s heavier than I thought.

My whole body—every piece of cyberware and implant—was screaming, begging me not to do this insane stunt.

“Whew. Must be 4 tons. Guess electric SUVs really are beasts, huh?”

“Are you out of your mind?! Leilia, no matter how strong you are, you can’t just toss a 4-ton car and come out unscathed!”

“I know, dammit!!”

4 tons in weight, 16 feet long (5m), 6.5 feet wide (2m), 5.5 feet tall (1.65m).

Basically half an elephant.

Yet, somehow, it began to spin around me.

Crack.

Oh. That was the sound of something—my arm, spine, or leg—reaching its limit.

As I let go, the SUV hurled forward, aimed to crush Eve flat.

And—

Despite its momentum, Eve sliced it cleanly in half with her sword.

Thunk.

The two halves bounced off to the sides like jelly hitting rubber.

“You idiot! Throwing a lump of metal like that uses way less energy than blocking a bullet!”

Eve’s angry shout suddenly cut off.

Clack.

Because I was already right in front of her, both hands shoved into the gap in her chest armor.

No, I wasn’t groping her like some pervert in the middle of battle.

Beep.

I was holding an activated EMP grenade.

“You really shouldn’t get distracted in the middle of a fight.”

Pop!

As I pulled my hands out, the EMP grenade slipped right into her chest plate.

“What the—!!”

I gave her a wink and bolted backward.

Yeah, I knew throwing a 4-ton SUV wouldn’t make Eve vaporize it with her shield. That would’ve taken more energy than her androids could provide.

No, a simple magnetic redirection—bouncing it off—was the smarter and far more efficient choice.

But that brief moment when her Electromagnetic Shield switched from vaporization to repulsion?

That was my opening.

That’s when I slipped the grenade in.

“W-where… where did you go?!”

Eve fumbled to pull out the grenade, but the palm-sized sphere was rolling around inside her armor, too slippery to grab.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

“Damn it! A dumb EMP grenade? I’ll just fry its circuit first!”

And she did.

Eve gathered energy into her chest armor, and the EMP grenade burned to a crisp, emitting a puff of black smoke.

“Ha! Leilia, you dumbass! You wasted all that energy on a stupid trick like this? Now you’re—!”

Eve had broken into a mocking laugh when she finally looked up to find me.

“…Why are you over there?”

I was already 50 yards (about 45m) away, peeking from behind a pile of cars.

I answered her confused look by mouthing words.

She didn’t understand.

So I opened my mouth wider and exaggerated:

[Look! Behind! You!]

“Behind?”

Yes, now she got it—

Or rather, she finally saw it.

Eve turned her head in the direction I was pointing.

And right behind her—

One more EMP grenade sat ticking on the ground… right in front of the Android Knight Corps, all 30 of them kneeling together.

Why’d you think I only used one grenade?

This time I used Engraved Vision to directly transmit my thoughts into her mind.

Throwing two has twice the effect. And if one’s a dud, the other’s backup.

That’s right.

While I threw one into her armor and fell back, I’d also lobbed the second one toward the Androids.

I mean… I’ve got two hands, don’t I?

Why wouldn’t I throw two?

“No!!”

Eve lunged for the grenade, but—

Too late.

No flash, no bang.

Just a burst of pure electromagnetic energy.

To most people, it would’ve looked like nothing.

But through my Engraved Vision, I saw the massive wave of electromagnetic force sweeping everything.

…Wait. If I can see it, that means I’m in range too—

My limbs went numb, like blood was rushing back after being cut off.

Rub

Rubbing my arms and legs didn’t help much, but I did it anyway.

‘Good thing I backed off 50 yards.’

Any closer and I’d be toast too.

Yup. I’m amazing.

All hail the smartest nun in the world—Leilia!

Pat pat.

I patted my own head twice as a reward and started heading for Bridge No. 3.

Clomp. Clomp.

The heavy sound of my combat boots echoed softly.

Up ahead, I could see Eve sprawled like a puppet with cut strings, and the 30 androids frozen mid-kneel.

Perfect.

No matter how advanced your cyberware or androids are, a direct EMP hit means game over.

Clomp. Clomp.

All that’s left now…

The two limousines sitting in front of the drawbridge.

Isabella and Berry must be inside.

Clomp. Clomp.

Should I say hi to Berry first?

Or should I deal with Isabella right away—

Thud.

Someone grabbed my ankle.

No way.

There’s only one person who could reach my ankle from this position.

No. That’s impossible. No one could move after taking a full EMP blast.

Then… what the hell is touching my ankle?

As I slowly looked down with clenched teeth—

There she was.

“…Told you it’s useless, Leilia, you idiot.”

Eve, her blue eyes completely extinguished, was looking up at me with a twisted, smirking mouth.