“You have become an excellent shot, Kevin-sama.”
“I’ve always been an excellent shot. You should see me when I play shooter games at Dave and Busters.”
“Heh… look at the stud bragging about his accomplishments. What a rare treat.”
“Be quiet, Iris.”
“Beloved, more robots are coming in from our left!”
Christine reacted before anyone else could. Two ears suddenly popped onto her head, twitching. Kotohime saw her pupils become thin slits and a tail that split into two popped out from underneath her lolita clothing.
I see. So she’s already learned how to channel her other side. Though she doesn’t appear to have complete control of it.
Fire burst from Christine’s fingertips. They were like tiny lances, flying off quickly and hitting their targets in the chest. Unfortunately, neither of the YK units appeared to have a wind core, so the attacks did little damage.
“Ikken Hissatsu. Ougi.”
Lowering her stance, Kotohime unsheathed her katana and swung it while spinning around a full 360 degrees. The air exploded. A wave of condensed energy in the form of a circle burst from her blade, slicing into the YK units and cutting them apart.
Kotohime clicked her tongue when she realized that she hadn’t sliced into the YK units’ cores. The Yokai Killers regenerated quickly. Reaching behind her, she curled her fingers around the handle of her wakizashi.
“Ikken Hissatsu. Ichi no Ougi.”
She unsheathed both blades, leapt into the air, and attacked. Kotohime overwhelmed the two YK units in her sights. Her blades were like flashes of incandescent light, flaring for only a split second before flickering away. She landed on the ground several seconds later and sheathed her two weapons. Click. The sound rang out ominously loud. Above her, the two YK units fell apart, their remains splashing against the ground like water, the two youki generators having been sliced into a hundred tiny pieces.
They continued to fight a running battle, moving ever farther from the civilian epicenter. Of course, there were more civilians around, and they all proceeded to bolt when they saw Kotohime and the others. She did not let this bother her. Following her lead, Kevin, Christine, Lilian, and Iris did their best to protect everyone caught within the fighting.
Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Kevin and Lilian fighting side by side, protecting a pair of children. To her left, Iris struggled against a YK unit that had nearly killed a mother and her child—until Christine froze it like a popsicle. Then Iris’s reinforced foot shattered it. The Void finished it off.
This isn’t good.
If this kept up, innocent people were going to die. The last thing that she wanted was to have innocent blood on her hands, or worse, for Lilian and the others to have that blood on their hands.
We need to reach the White House and soon.
The closer they moved to the White House, the less people there seemed to be—which was good.
Kotohime darted left and right. Beams of compressed youki sliced the ground around her. Pumping the supernatural energy through her limbs, she leapt into the air and twirled her katana around like a propeller. Beams coming in from multiple directions ricocheted off her blade. While the attacks jarred her bones something fierce, she continued blocking attacks until she’d flown close enough to unleash one of her own.
“Ikken Hissatsu. Sen.”
A thousand lines appeared along the YK unit that she’d attacked. Landing on the ground, she ignored how it fell apart and continued fighting. The White House was in sight now—a large building composed of three wings, surrounded by a large fence. It was also guarded by around a hundred soldiers.
This isn’t good. Do Kevin-sama and the others have enough energy left to fight?
It looked like she was about to find out—whether she wanted to or not.
The air was soon filled with gunfire.
The battle was taking an unexpected turn.
Ethan stared at the video that showed live feed from the battle. Five people were fighting against his squadron of elite YK units… and they were winning. That shouldn’t have been possible. What made it even worse was that not only were they winning, but his own YK units were attacking civilians… and the president, along with the entire top brass of the military, was watching.
“Commander Paine!” the president shouted. “What is this? Why are your machines attacking our people?!”
“It… must be having trouble recognizing friend from foe. In a thick urban environment, there are numerous factors that have to be taken into consideration. Ever since forty percent of the United States military turned traitor, we’ve had to recalibrate the YK units to kill more than just yokai. This has affected their ability to distinguish enemies and allies.”
“Then why did you even bother sending these units out?” the General of the Armies demanded to know.
“Would you rather these creatures mow through your men and attack us instead?” he asked, keeping his tone calm despite his anger. This situation was bad, but it was not unsalvageable. “Right now, there is no way that a human can defeat a yokai on even ground—and among all of the yokai currently on the enemy’s side, that one with the katana is formidable enough to kill hundreds of soldiers before we can take her down. Do you have several hundred soldiers currently stationed here?”
Nobody spoke up. He knew why, of course. It was because they didn’t have that many soldiers here right now. This was a secret meeting. No one should have known about it, which meant there was only a light guard detail around the White House. There were only fifteen squads present. That was about one hundred soldiers, plus whatever light infantry vehicles they possessed.
Another hiss came from the door, and one of the few soldiers who knew of their meeting entered the room.
“Sirs!” He snapped a salute.
“At ease, soldier,” the president said. “What do you have for us?”
“You might want to turn on the news, sir. Channel fifteen. It’s… well, I don’t think you’re going to like it.”
Frowning, the president switched to channel 15 news. The image that came back was grainy, but everyone clearly recognized it as the same battle that they’d just been watching. There was a woman standing in front of the camera, off to the side, so as to allow everyone watching to view what was happening.
“As you can see, there is currently a battle happening right this very moment next to the White House. I would love to say that this is, in fact, an attack on the president of the United States of America… except I’m no longer sure that is the case.”
As she spoke, the camera zoomed in on Kotohime, who stood before a group of soldiers, simultaneously fighting them while also protecting them from two YK units. She’d push soldiers out of the way just in time to let them avoid a beam aimed by the unit. The ground would explode, sending fragments everywhere, but the soldiers were still alive.
The camera zoomed back in to reveal the woman. Ethan didn’t recognize her. She must have been one of the lower-end journalists.
“As you can clearly see, the machines dubbed Yokai Killers—a dubious invention created by the Sons and Daughters of Humanity to kill yokai—are attacking everything in sight, including our own soldiers. The yokai are currently protecting them, in spite of how our soldiers are trying to kill them.”
Ethan’s eyes narrowed and a growl escaped his lips. “What does that woman think she’s doing?!”
The camera zoomed in again. This time, it showed four people protecting their soldiers while also defending themselves. A girl in gothic lolita garb was launching fireballs at YK units. Beside her, using void fire, a twin-tailed kitsune stood. Behind them was a redhead. She’d projected a golden dome around them, protecting them from a hailstorm of bullets at their backs… and then there was…
That boy…
Ethan narrowed his eyes further when he saw the blond-haired young man currently disabling the soldiers with an unusual style of combat that he’d never see
n before.
… Kevin Swift.
Reaching into his pocket, he pressed a button on his phone.
The beep went unheard by everyone else.
Kevin heard his raspy breathing pounding in his ears. He didn’t know how long he’d been fighting, but he did know that he was getting tired. Fighting against the YK units and the soldiers, while also protecting those same soldiers, was putting a toll on his body.
The others were getting tired too. Sweat poured from Lilian’s forehead, Iris’s body was twitching from her exertions, and Christine’s fire was flickering like a candle in the wind.
They’d manage to defeat ten YK units, but the last two were proving difficult. Kevin wondered if they’d been installed with a self-learning program. Their movements were more unpredictable, and they were firing projectiles and beam attacks from a distance, making getting in close untenable. Kotohime had already tried and had a hole blasted into her left thigh. She was lucky that she was a River Kitsune. The wound had healed up. However…
How long will her youki last?
Kotohime’s healing ability was not a finite talent. It would only last so long as she had youki. She was the least of their worries, however. The fact was that Kotohime had the most youki out of everyone there, nearly six or seven times the amount of the other three yokai combined. Lilian, Iris, and Christine were the ones who needed to be careful.
We need to think up something quick.
Iris must have been thinking the same thing. As she leapt back, avoiding the beam that sliced through the ground, she shouted at him. “Hey, Stud! You and Lilian should get moving! Head to the White House!”
“And leave you three here?!” he shouted back while firing off several rounds at the YK units. They swerved to avoid his gunfire. Meanwhile, behind him, Lilian had created a barrier to protect him from the soldiers’ gunfire, though their attacks were petering off.
“Yes! We’re getting nowhere like this! We need someone to continue on!”
The soldiers fired at them again, but Christine—no longer in her nekomata form—created a wall of ice that blocked their bullets. Kevin and Lilian darted out from behind the wall and closed the distance. Slamming his fist into the underside of some guy’s chin, Kevin had the satisfaction of watching them crumple to the ground, though he did wince at the pain in his knuckles.
Spinning around when he sensed movement behind him, Kevin ducked underneath someone’s punch, then leapt over another person’s kick. He extended his left leg and returned fire. His kick smacked into a woman’s Kevlar vest. It knocked her backwards, allowing him to grab her flailing arms and yank her into one of the other soldier’s attacks. As the woman had the butt of a rifle slammed into her face, Kevin shoved her into her companions, sending them all to the ground.
“We’ll stay here and keep these people occupied,” Christine added as her ice wall shattered. The hundreds of shards that formed were then launched at the soldiers, pelting them with relentless tenacity and forcing them to take cover.
“But—”
“Ufufufu…” Kotohime’s freaky laughter filled his ears, as the woman in question unsheathed and resheathed her blade several times. Compressed crescents of wind sliced the air apart. The YK units that she was targeting flitted around the attacks like annoying gnats. “Iris-sama, Christine-san, and I will be your vanguard. Please go on ahead, Kevin-sama, Lilian-sama.”
Kevin and Lilian silently conversed with each other. Nodding slowly, they broke rank with the others. Kevin leapt up, slamming his knee into a soldier’s face. Lilian used the extension technique, grabbing several soldiers and slamming them into each other. Rushing through the gap they’d made, Kevin and Lilian ran toward the White House. The soldiers tried to stop them, but Christine created walls of ice on either side of the two, protecting them, while Kotohime appeared within the enemy's midst, blasting them away with swings of her sheathed katana.
Lilian reached the gate first. Like when she’d launched Kevin onto the roof, she did the same thing here. When they’d both safely jumped the fence, they turned to see the other three guarding their backs.
“We’re counting on you!” Kevin shouted.
“If any of you die, I’m never going to forgive you!” Lilian added.
“Yeah, whatever, Lily-pad!” Iris grabbed someone’s gun with her tail, lifted the person holding it up, and swung them into another person. “Just remember, when all this is over, I expect a super-hot threesome for my contribution in this!”
“There’ll be no threesome! You’re sleeping on the couch for disobeying Kotohime!” Kevin and Lilian shouted before turning heel and running further into the White House’s lawn.
As they ran through a thicket of trees and bushes, Kevin frowned as he suddenly realized something.
“Where did Justin go?” he asked, looking at Lilian, who shrugged.
“Don’t look at me. I wasn’t even paying attention to him.”
Kevin frowned but didn’t comment. He hoped his friend wasn’t in some kind of trouble.
Twelve
Unpleasant Truths
Justin crawled through the small ventilation shaft, which, if his memories about the White House’s layout was correct, would take him directly to the secured chamber where the meeting between Commander Paine and the US president was taking place.
While Kevin and the others had fought against those YK units, he’d decided to slip away and confront the commander. He knew that Kevin wanted to be the one who did it. That was the whole reason his friend was even on this mission. However, Justin didn’t want his friend facing Commander Paine, or learning the hard truths about himself.
The ventilation shaft was a tight fit. He could barely squeeze himself through. It was a damn good thing that he wasn’t claustrophobic, otherwise he’d have been in deep trouble.
He no longer had his knife, which he deduced had fallen off sometime during the battle outside. It sucked that he’d lost it. However, he couldn’t allow himself to be slowed down.
“Don’t… me…”
“… clearly… you…”
Voices could be heard further off and down below, and though he couldn’t make out what they were saying yet, he could at least recognize one of the voices. Commander Paine. He was definitely one of the people talking, which meant that Justin was close. All he needed to do now was find the right exit point and…
There it is!
Justin crawled until he was situated over a vent. Peering down, he saw several people sitting around a long table. He recognized all of them as high-ranking members of the United States Military.
Wasting no time, Justin broke the vent and dropped from it. He landed on his feet, smoothly unholstered his gun, and aimed it at Commander Paine as he came up from his crouch.
“Commander,” Justin said, grinning. “It’s good to see you again. How’ve ya been?”
“Justin Verrator.” Commander Paine scowled. “I’m surprised you’re here.”
“Mack let me in on this mission.”
“Hmph! Then he’s an idiot and far too trusting.”
“That’s better than being a bigoted fool who trusts no one but himself.”
Justin looked around to see that everyone present—minus the president and Commander
Paine—had pulled out a gun and was aiming at him. He grinned.
“Sorry, everyone. I didn’t mean to crash in on your meeting, but the commander and I have some business with each other.”
“Who are you?” asked the president.
“No one in particular,” Justin said, never taking his eyes off his former commander. “Just a child who was born inside of a test tube, experimented on, and trained to kill yokai, who currently has some business with his former employer.”
“I should have disposed of you when our scientists called you a failure,” Commander Paine declared.
“Should’ve. Would’ve. Could’ve… but didn’t—and now that decision is going to bite you in the ass.”
&nb
sp; “Are you sure about that?”
Commander Paine ’s uncharacteristic smirk made Justin frown. He felt like he was forgetting some… thing…?
His eyes widening, Justin ducked just as a loud whumff was heard above him. The air was displaced as something heavy nearly bashed his head off. Justin rolled along the ground and came up firing, though his bullets only pinged off the surface of the Yokai Killer standing before him. Draped in a cloak, with a glowing red visor, the monster towered over him by at least two feet.
I can’t believe I forgot about the commander’s personal guard.
“Tch!”
Justin hopped backwards to avoid the YK unit’s attack. As the creature slashed at him with what appeared to be an oversized scimitar, the air in front of him was displaced, blowing his hair from his face and stinging his eyes. He would’ve attacked back by shooting it; however, he was in a room full of VIPs. One stray bullet was all it would take to create more chaos.
“Commander Paine! What is the meaning of all this?! What is going on here?” the president demanded to know.
“Isn’t it obvious? This boy is here to kill me.”
Seeing the smug look of triumph in the commander’s eyes, Justin felt a snarl peel his lips, even as he was forced back because of the YK unit. He would’ve liked nothing more than to wipe that look from Commander Paine ’s face.
“That isn’t what I meant! Explain what this boy meant when he called himself an experiment!”
Left. Right. Duck. Justin moved quickly to avoid being sliced in twines. He backpedaled. The YK unit charged forward, forcing him to move backwards even more quickly. Justin felt the hair on his scalp get sliced off from a near miss. Pain jolted him to awareness as something warm trickled down his scalp.
This thing… it’s really fast!
Justin tasted copper on his teeth as he bit his tongue after rolling along the ground, though he ignored the pain and kept moving. The air was cut in front of him. He sidestepped, wincing as the fierce sting of a blade sliced a line across his chest, drawing more blood.
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