"Yeah, yeah, yeah. What do you think of Layton's situation?" Mifi changed the subject.
Naruki thought for a moment.
"Well......" she said with a different feeling from before and touched her chin.
"I'm not sure how good his comrades are, but I think he's strong. Yes, that's what I think......"
"What is it?" Mifi said, noticing her hesitation.
"I've only trained with Internal-type Kei, but Layton's External-type Burst Kei isn't too bad. But I feel that...He himself isn't too keen on the match."
"Yes."
"......Layton, he wouldn't get hurt, would he?" Meishen said, a deep frown sitting between her eyebrows, as if she was about to cry.
Naruki smiled and shook her head. "They're using blunted weapons. We don't have to worry about him sustaining any injuries."
"Though, every year, the average number of people getting injured in Military Arts is around 300. It's three times more than other courses and it's mostly caused in training and matches."
Mifi's words made the tears fall from Meishen's eyes.
Naruki's fist connected with Mifi's head.
His stomach had stopped hurting, but now his brain felt dull and listless. Layfon wasn't keen on the match at all.
The team walked into the corridor, leaving the locker room for the match. Sunlight replaced the artificial light. The fervent atmosphere surrounded them.
"Ah!" Layfon voiced his annoyance at the unusual scene in the battlefield.
Numerous students sat in the audience section and a camera hovered in the air. One of the big screens showed the members of platoon 17.
"Not bad!"
Sharnid waved at the camera. Some students in the audience section shouted in shrill excitement. Sharnid's smile widened.
"This atmosphere suits me the best. I think I can perform three times better than usual!"
"I hope so," Nina said, coldly glancing at him, disapproving his flippant attitude. She then scanned the field.
"Except for the area we're now in, everything else is about the same as usual."
As Nina said, the terrain wasn't that different from usual.
"We can't be careless. The defense team might have set traps. Felli, search for the enemies and traps when the match begins. Can you handle both?"
"Who knows," Felli replied, supporting herself on her staff. Nina's expression turned harsh.
The atmosphere made Layfon feel weak on his shoulders.
The commentator for the match spoke through the loudspeaker, his voice full of energy. The match was about to begin. Layfon restored his Dite.
He held a greenish blue sword.
In the past, he held it because of money.
But now?
The light from the green Dite didn't have Kei in it. It was simply reflecting the ray of the sun. The beautiful and empty light weighed down on Layfon.
It was all because of his recklessness at the opening ceremony. He was hassled by the riot. Before he knew what was happening, he had suppressed the culprits of the riot.
Why did he do that? He regretted his action.
"Really."
"Hmm? What is it?"
He spoke in a whisper, but Nina had heard it.
"Nothing."
The siren signaling the beginning of the match drowned out his reply.
"Time to go," Nina said.
Layfon followed behind her.
Inside the Student President's room, Karian watched the screen. Both camps in the match had moved out after the siren sounded. Karian's gaze followed the attacker who was dragging his greenish blue sword behind and clumsily chasing after his captain.
"Is this the guy that the Student President admires?"
The owner of the voice was a Military Student, standing before the office desk. With an awe-inspiring countenance, the muscular man patted the beard on his chin, watching the screen.
"His movements are clumsy and his flow of Kei is really bad. Did he really suppress the riot in the opening ceremony?"
"The very same, Military Arts' Commander Vance."
"Ha?"
Vance Hardy, Commander of Military Arts – the representative of the Military Arts course leaned on the office desk, watching the screen with incomprehension.
"Well then, he lacks enthusiasm. What a useless guy. This includes the one who transferred him into Military Arts."
Karian shrugged and avoided eye contact.
"I can guarantee his true ability. No one in Zuellni can be his opponent if he's serious. This is only a gathering for a group of novices, an amateurish organization. To one who immersed himself in the professional world for so many years, this match is a child's game."
"We're betting our lives on this game."
"Yes, even if it's a game , the ideal we hold to keep the city alive is the same, but he doesn't seem to understand that."
"And there's also your sister."
"Have you a different opinion, Commander?"
"Of course. The two who lack enthusiasm and the Sharnid with real power but no cooperation. As the Military Arts Commander and the one who is responsible for the city's defense, I have a lot to complain about for giving Nina a platoon with so many issues. It makes more sense to put her in another platoon and nurture her that way."
"Wasn't she the one who refused that proposal?"
Vance shut his mouth.
"Two years ago, everyone had huge expectations for her. She was accepted into a platoon when she was only in first year. But she'd changed her mind since we failed in the Military Arts competition. She formed her own team because of that. She chose Sharnid herself. I gave her the other two, but I did it with the belief that she could use them well."
"I'm against her forming a platoon."
"Unfortunately, I have the final say."
"......Are you planning to destroy the future of an excellent student!?" Vance roared and struck the desk with his fist. The air vibrated. He was twice as muscular as Karian, but the Student President remained calm.
"Only if this city survives," Karian waved away the vibrating air. "Can you guarantee we'll win in the next competition?"
The gentle smiled disappeared. Karian challenged Vance with a gaze sharp as the blade of a knife. The Commander lifted his thick eyebrows and accepted the challenge.
"There are no absolutes in war," Vance said.
"Yes, but I still want an absolute guarantee. We must win to guarantee the survival of this city. Humans can't live without the city. This cold world rejects us. I think you should know the meaning of losing a city?"
What was outside the city – The few plants that managed to survive on this polluted earth were poisonous. The only survivors were the filth monsters that had overcome the poison.
Unable to survive in this harsh world, humans could only live in an artificial world – in a mobile city.
"Of course I understand that. But this is an Academy. It's a place of learning. I won't abandon good students!"
"I'm nurturing them."
"How so?"
"You can obtain something by failing. Humans grow through failures. The greatest proof of maturity is what one obtains through enormous suffering. My sister and Layfon Alseif haven't yet understood this point, so I've thrown them over there."
"Meaning this platoon is full of abandoned students?"
"They haven't been abandoned. You can only make conclusions after the result."
"In the end, even you can't guarantee the result."
Karian nodded as if this was natural. "There's nothing absolute about people. If it exists, I'll become a mad believer."
He moved his gaze back to the screen.
The camera controlled by psychokinesis was filming a certain area of the war field.
Layfon's desperate expression, his face stuck with sweat and dust, appeared on the screen.
"In this life and death situation, you'll be suspected. Have you truly given up? Or have you not?" Karian's murmuring turned Vance's gaze t
o the screen too.
The 17th platoon was losing.
A platoon must have at least four fighting members.
Yes, that was written in the Military Arts handbook. The 17th platoon had four people, so it fulfilled the minimal number. Harley wasn't in the count as he wasn't a fighter.
Then what about the maximum number?
Seven people.
The 16th platoon had five fighting members. This was already counted as a small platoon. Usually, a platoon had seven fighting members.
Preparing the fighting strength of the team was an absolute must to win and survive, but the 17th platoon lacked this.
The excuse of not having enough time made no difference in the field. The excuse of the losing team was just a dog's barking, not worth listening to. Besides, Nina had no intention of giving voice to it.
The 17th platoon lacked the strength of one more member.
He couldn't help but think that the result could be overturned.
Truly, that was what Layfon was thinking, even though he didn't plan to win.
How naive of him.
When the siren sounded, he and Nina rushed forward to the enemy base. They had to eliminate the entire enemy team to win, or make them lose their fighting capability and destroy the flag they were protecting. On the other hand, the defense team had to either defeat the captain of the enemy team or protect their flag within the time limit. The defense team could set traps in the field before the match, so they had the advantage if they were to just keep on the defensive side.
It was like this because the victory conditions in a real Military Arts competition were the defeat of the enemy's forces or the destruction of the city's Central Mechanism, which was represented by the flag.
"The other team will probably choose to defend. All they need to do is protect their flag until the time limit," Nina said in the locker room.
"Me and Layfon will act as bait. During that time, Sharnid is to snipe the flag. It's an old-fashioned but realistic plan."
"Layfon, the first problem we'll face is getting through the traps as fast as we can. The 16th platoon can't easily detect Sharnid's Kei, but we'll have to attract the psychokinesist's attention with our speed. Our mission is to confuse the other team."
That was why the two of them were running on the uneven ground and heading straight for the front line of the opposing team. They moved at their highest speed while running through bushes and staying alert for traps.
Something felt wrong.
"Layfon, be careful," Nina said from behind. She felt it too.
There weren't any traps.
On the ground could be simple traps like pits, nets, conductive wires......and bundles of grass to trip one's feet......They didn't find any mines controlled by psychokinesis. Except for the changes made to the terrain for the match, nothing else looked different.
On Nina's gesture, Layfon stopped running and hid inside the shadow of the bush.
"Felli, have you found the enemy's position?"
"Two reactions in the enemy camp, and three at the front. None of the targets are moving," Felli answered lightly through the transmitter. The opponents didn't plan to hide any of their moves.
"They plan to receive our attack without reducing our strength through traps? Are we being underestimated?" Nina mumbled.
Another voice came through the transmitter. "This is Sharnid. I'm in position. There's something blocking my target, but this is the best position I could find. If there's a better opening, I guarantee my shot will hit."
So he planned to hit the obstacle before sniping the flag. But with that much time wasted, both the psychokinesist and people who could use External-type Burst Kei might discover Sharnid's position. He'd become the target of the enemy's sniper.
"Wait a minute. Just stay there and wait for your order."
"Roger. I'll shoot if a chance presents itself."
"I'm counting on you."
Nina's gaze threw out a question at Layfon.
(What do we do?)
He knew they could only keep on moving. The 16th platoon couldn't be unaware of the two of them. Even so, three members of the enemy team hadn't made a move, meaning they planned to receive attacks head-on.
And if the 17th platoon didn't take any action, the enemies would remain where they were till the time ran out. They would win.
There was only one thing left to do.
Fight the enemy. In a 2 vs 5 fight, the 17th platoon was at a disadvantage.
"Geez," Layfon complained in a low voice. Although the situation was as predicted, this was exactly what the other team had planned.
(What do we do next?)
Layfon's gaze reflected his question, and Nina wordlessly nodded. Now they had to rush the front line, just as they had agreed. He didn't understand why she was full of confidence. Her voice came through his transmitter.
"We'll follow the original plan. We'll draw the attackers into the front section of the field. Aim for the ground when we get there and use the smoke to confuse the enemy."
"Just don't get in my line of sight!" Sharnid said.
Felli asked for Sharnid's position, and Nina gave Layfon an order.
"Draw the enemy to the west."
The two of them signaled through eye contact. Layfon emerged from the bush, followed closely by Nina. As he ran, he extended his Kei to his blade. The Kei flowed like blood. This was a Kei vein. It connected Layfon's palm to the sword so the blade became a part of his body. The blade gave off a clear, blue light that was unlike that of the sun's. Layfon could feel the murky feeling from the blade.
Because he could feel the blade as if it had grown a nervous system overnight, he experienced the unnatural, numb and irritating feeling......a novice might be satisfied at this stage, but not Layfon. He needed it to be more intense. The colour of his Kei could be more vivid, more exciting.
The color of Kei on his blade looked so unsightly!
He clamped down his teeth to suppress his desire. He knew his best Kei wasn't of this level. But what would it do to use his best Kei here? What did he want to do? Nothing. He couldn't use his full power because he didn't know what he wanted to do.
What he was searching for wasn't the gem-like color of his Kei.
"Layfon!"
The shrill voice came not from the transmitter. He realized his consciousness had drifted off. He gazed back at the scene before him, but his heart was not in it.
When he collected himself, he was in a sea of dust.
In the moment they emerged from the bushes, their enemies had also arrived with high speed. And that speed had filled the air with dust and soil particles, blocking out the sun and dimming the surrounding area.
Layfon stopped running. He looked around, sensing Nina behind him.
"Look closely at the flow of the air!" Nina's order came through his transmitter.
He was irritated.
How could she give him such a basic method of searching?
Gritting his teeth, he watched the dust whirls before him.
Three dust whirls.
He slashed out with the sword, the pressure extending to his wrists. There were two pressures, canceling each other. One pressure flowed through Layfon's body, causing him to kneel on the ground.
Nina kept silent.
She was directing her attack at another whirl.
"Whirl Kei (Senkei)......" he murmured, then rolled away from his current position to confirm the situation.
Three figures separated Layfon and Nina.
This was an Internal-type Kei technique. It could strengthen the legs tremendously and made high speed movement possible. These three must have gone through special training in Whirl Kei.
After confirming their positions, the enemies had used their attack to confuse their vision, then executed a speedy attack with Whirl Kei. Their execution was flawless. They must have had special training in it.
They didn't need to set up traps at all. The simultaneous attack of the Whirl
Kei was the biggest trap.
(But......)
That strategy had also given Layfon's team a chance. He and Nina had completely attracted the enemy's attention. Next, they only needed to make an opening for Sharnid......
And he realized his foolishness.
Three people separated him and Nina. Once Nina fell, they would have lost.
"Senpai!"
Layfon couldn't get up because of the numbness in his knees. The pressure of the high speed attack remained in his body, preventing him from using his strength.
As he was trying to get up, one of the opponents rushed to him again with a high-speed Whirl Kei attack. Dust filled the air. A presence that Layfon couldn't see with his eyes was closing in. He blocked the attack with his sword. The instability of his legs caused him to fly through the air and he fell, rolling on the ground.
The pressure of the attack ran through his body. Sparks exploded in his vision. He had almost hit his head on the ground. Even so, he still had to get back up. He saw Nina defending from a Whirl Kei attack with her iron whips.
Rooted tightly on the spot, she held tight to her two irons whips, receiving the high speed strikes.
Compared to attacking, she was probably better at defense. She watched her two opponents calmly, and used her External-type Burst Kei to minimize the force of the strikes.
Which was completely different from the clumsy-looking Layfon, rolling on the ground like a fool. In Nina's eyes was an indomitable light. The two iron whips spoke true of her determination.
That pose was like a firm iron fortress.
He had no time to be fascinated by the scene.
Again, he blocked an attack with his sword, and fell tumbling on the dusty ground.
"This is annoying!" Layfon's attacker said. Layfon couldn't see his opponent's expression through the dust screen, but he understood the enemy was frustrated that Layfon could block the speedy attacks despite his clumsiness.
Another strike. Layfon once again tumbled across the earth. He was worse than a rolling stone. All he heard was the vibration deep in his ears. He couldn't hear any external noise properly. His head had been hit numerous times and his consciousness began to dim.
(Why am I doing this?)
He staggered to his feet and was still considering this question as he once again received another attack, only to fall rolling on the ground.
Chrome Shelled Regios Page 9
