Hidan no Aria - Volume 15

Chapter 1: Vacuum Bomb — Shima Hari

–It’s Christmas.

Ordinarily, it’s a day to watch the hijinks on TV and eat cake.

Despite that, the five of us are engaged in a firefight atop a gloomy tanker.

All around us, there are dog-, bird-, and crocodile-headed sand people — straight out of Egyptian depictions.

Where the heck did I go wrong in my life?

「No sooner than we settle things with Rampan, this happens. I wonder if both of us will make it back alive.」

「Don’t be stupid! Now, watch my back.」

That mistake was Aria.

With a small *Thump!*, she pressed her small back against mine.

–We were back-to-back.

It was a tactic for covering all blind spots when completely surrounded.

Holding ancient firearms and axes, the golems advanced on the upper deck to attack us. With the strong night wind blowing across the sea, they carefully climbed over the exposed piping.

There were quite a number of golems. Between 40 and 50.

But… they were weak.

Their movements were ponderous, and it seems unlikely that their intelligence was much above the level of insects. What’s more, they were made of ordinary yellow sand,

Back when we fought in the casino, the black sand golems were much stronger.

Even their form is sloppy. They are covered by their Nazi field uniforms, and I suppose that its purpose is to conceal their flaws.

「–Aria, these guys are definitely stalling. We have to get out of here quickly.」

This large super tanker, the Shima Hari, had been sea-jacked. A mirrored Hakenkreuz fluttered at the stern–the symbol of the remnant of Nazi Germany’s armed forces, Katze’s Regiment Hex.

Also known as『The Witch of Cursed Water』, Katze is planning to use this tanker in a terrorist attack. She will dump 150,000 tonnes of crude oil into the harbour and burn it, using up all the oxygen in the bay. It’s a modified form of a Nazi WMD, a『vacuum bomb』.

In order to stop it, we boarded the ship like commandos.

The tanker is headed for west end of Victoria Bay that divides Hong Kong into North and South. Given current cruise speed, we have 20 minutes.

「Kinji, look at that building! Katze and Patra are on the roof.」

Aria pointed with her gun at the small, building-like structure are the stern of the ship.

「What are you thinking?」

「They’re the ones in charge here–the real power. To a certain extent, the golems’ operation is autonomous, but the pipeline presents a blind spot. It’s like they need a bird’s eye view of us.」

「…So, with a bird’s eye view, you’re saying that they are the one’s giving them orders?」

「Yes, that’s what I mean.」

I arrived at the same conclusion after Aria’s superb sense of intuition had already reasoned it out, and she continued–

「There may be more to it than that. The golems defending the area around the building are definitely stronger.」

Without waiting, I shot several golems in succession, creating an opening. Aria and I then raced toward the stern.

On both sides of us, we could see the colourful nightscape of Hong Kong and Kowloon sparkling.

Already far out into the bay, the tanker continued careening recklessly as the traffic of an uncountable number of boats became disorganised.

Glancing to port–

That looks like a highway– It looks familiar.

It was the Eastern Highway where Son and our car chase had unfolded.

The tanker was already passing by North Point. It was the relaxed downtown area where Yuan’s house was located

*******************************************************

A tanker is no ordinary ship. It’s a massive, megafloat-like ship that’s like a poor version of an aircraft carrier.

The Shima Hari has about a hectare of surface area, and a 5-storey building stands at the extreme stern end. And at the entrance to the building–

From behind sandbags, tow golems fired a Nazi-era MG 42 belt-fed machine gun. However, the range was extreme, so the bullets dispersed widely.

「If you can’t aim properly, then you shouldn’t even use it!」

With a dumbfounded expression, Aria shot both of them with her twin pistols, and we left piles of sand behind us as we leaped over an Anubis-headed soldier to breac the structure.

Once inside the building… it had the appearance of a modest economy hotel. During the long trip transporting crude oil, this must be where the sailors live.

There were no signs of golems in the rough interior of the building. There was also a set of stairs.

It appears that they are not using high enough grade golems that are capable of acting outside the field of view. I remember Jeanne telling me that Hong Kong was a city with strong anti-magic properties. So even here, it appears that Katze’s ally, The Sand Witch, has trouble using magic.

Reaching the top floor, Aria kicked open the door that looked like a pilothouse door–

High precision GPS , ECDIS navigation, and AIS ship identification equipment were ranged about the spacious room’s interior.

In skin-baring, Egyptian clothes stood Patra…

Opposite her, wearing an all-covering black Nazi uniform was Katze Grasse.

「–The sea is pleasant, don’t you think? It remembers me of my time in I.U.」

Merely raising an eyebrow at the guns pointed her direction, Patra twirled a crystal ball within her fingers.

「Back in I.U., I communicated to both Riko and Koko『If you do a hijacking, I want to come along as well』. I do not believe they took me seriously. But now, everyone is here–just as I predicted.」

Turning toward the captain’s chair. Katze lounged out casually and grinned beneath her black witch’s hat.

「Katze, Patra. Who tipped you off? You moved much too quickly.」

Aria greeted them thus, with her silver and black Governments pointed at each of them, respectively.

With a sneer, Katze narrowed her eyes in such a manner that the eyepatch couldn’t completely hide.

Despite all that had happened previously, at Aria’s current statement, I turned back to look at her in surprise.

Do you mean to say… that we have a spy among us, Aria?

「You were in Western Europe. Even if Rampan contacted you, it is much too soon for you to have mobilised. You definitely didn’t have enough time to prepare for such a large-scale assault.」

As soon as Aria said that, my Hysteria Mode brain started estimating how long Katze would need to get ready for such an offensive–It was definitely a bit premature. Moreover, Katze had said that she disliked the method of attack. There is definitely no way that they could have heard about Baskerville’s spearhead attack on Hong Kong beforehand, so there definitely wasn’t enough time.

「I asked Riko, Patra, but what is your horoscope’s accuracy? About 5%?」

「…71% And I devote myself to it most diligently every day.」

Patra easily defeated Aria’s statement… However, even with a 70% chance that two enemy generals would appear in Hong Kong, Greneda wouldn’t bestir itself.

In other words–we have a leak.

They must have had some more certain intelligence before we reached Hong Kong.

「So, Aria-chan. Would you believe me if I said,『Someone told me』and kept going on and on about it?」

「I don’t believe you, Nazi. So, talk. Kinji, you take Patra. I’ll take Katze. You are both in violation of the Subversive Activities Prevention Act, in addition to infliction of maritime property damage, your various violent actions, violation of the Navigation Act… and, uh… all those other things, so you’re under arrest.」

You still had a bit more room to negotiate, Aria…

I thought that, but this is how things are, and it’s unavoidable. There’s no more time.

At the same moment, Aria and I both turned to the right-–

–*Bam!* *Ba-ba-bam!*

Firing through the window curtains on that side of the room and toward the outside veranda.

With a crackling sound, the glass shattered. On the other side of the simple curtains separated to the sides, and the movement of someone dodging the shots was evident.

It was the real Katze and Patra.

My Hysteria Mode’s perception had picked up on the fact earlier that these were detailed sand dolls and cursed water apparitions.

So Katze had merely pretended, that it was impossible for her to produce a full colour water figure, which she had shown us in monochrome. Clever girl.

As for Patra, she was concentrating on making this sand figure… That’s why the rest of the sand golems were misshapen.

Pitching forward as it collapsed, the Sand Patra spilled out with a rustle.

It appeared to be made of star sand, and a part of it formed a small dust storm that flew toward Aria.

「–!」

In order to not ruin her eyes, Aria flinched away, turning to take the blow on the back. She then fired a rapid burst of .45ACP bullets at the curtains. But from the other side– *Kachin!* *Kachin!* *Kachin!*

On the veranda, the real Patra used a small buckler made of sand and orbiting around her to stop the bullets.

「Hohoho! As I would expect from Sir Sherlock’s relative. However, you are already cursed by the sand.」

Drawing the back of her hand across her red lips, Patra laughed cheerfully.

「…?」

From Aria–who had taken the blast of sand on her back–something like smoke was rising from her whole body.

This is–what I saw on the Annabelle!

Patra’s magic to remove all water from the human body…!

「…Uhn…? Ha…Haa…!」

「Aria!!!」

Tongue hanging out like a dog and panting harshly, Aria collapsed, and I tried to rescue her.

Next to her on the veranda, carrying a clear plastic bottle of mineral water, stood Katze

…That’s it!

Removing the bottle from her mouth in an instant, she turned, and the water gushed toward me–*Bashhurt!*

Aiming at my chest, water shot from Katze’s mouth like a water gun in an attack that I just barely dodged. Grazing my bulletproof uniform, the dart of water shredded it and opened a hole in the wall behind it. Even the steel girder in the middle of the wall was shaved off like cheese.

This was the water gun that Sherlock shot at me–a technique to shoot a super high jet of water. Its range is extremely short, but due to its greater mass, its penetrating power is greater than a rifle. It would even be able to cut through solid objects. Considering that fact, it’s close to a laser attack.

Even though I managed to dodge it, it totally wrecked my balance…

I avoided collapsing, but I lost my firing posture and couldn’t help falling to one knee.

「Whaaat! Did you already know?」

Grumbling, Katze cast aside the plastic bottle and drew a gold-plated Luger P08. Then pointing the muzzle toward me, she stepped into the room with Patra.

「…Since I.U., I’ve done some『brushing up』.」

I bluffed–

But I wouldn’t be able to save Aria in time.

Grasping one of Aria’s twintails, Patra forced Aria to stand…

「Aria…!」

Due to the nature of Hysteria Mode to prioritise the safety of girls, unfortunately I was stopped in my tracks.

While I was completely open, Katze rushed over toward me.

As I was on one knee, she thrust the muzzle forward a short distance from my head.

「Hey! Didn’t it all work out like I said, Patra? Making all those sand soldier cannon fodder and just tossing them out there wasn’t so hard, now was it?」

「True. There were not an abundant number of Riri particles to contend with tonight, so you were correct.」

The two witches that had cornered both Aria and I said to each other.

Steam continued to rise from Aria’s body as she grit her teeth… Determined at all costs not to lose grip of her guns.

「Oiii! Aria! Just let go of those guns. You like this guy, don’t you?」

At Katze’s words, Aria’s eyes narrowed in bitterness…

「Th… that’s… ri… dicul… ous…」

I wanted to say something, but I was unable to.

「Alright then. Then I’ll execute him. You want me to do it?」

Hearing each of those things, Aria’s trigger finger began to quiver, and she started to move to relinquish her guns.

–No, you can’t, Aria!

You can’t let go of your guns.

If you relinquish you weapons, she’ll just shoot me anyway.

Even if she does end up shooting me, you have to keep fighting.

「–Aria.」

With the gun still pointed at my head, I looked Aria straight in the eyes.

「It will be alright. I won’t die. Neither will you. I… can’t stop being a Butei, and someday I will be a regular Butei. And you will save your mother, Kanae-san. The two of us still have things we have to do. So, we can’t die yet. You can’t die.」

What spouted from my mouth was pure sentimentality–devoid of all logical reason.

I couldn’t forget how back in April, during Riko’s hijacking of flight ANA 600, I had given up and Aria had encouraged me.

This time, it’s my turn to encourage her. Don’t throw your guns away, Aria.

Hearing my words, Katze and Patra exchange glances–

Seeming to remember the hijacking, Aria tightened her grip on her guns.

Yes, Aria. That’s it.

Even though you can’t raise a gun, this is good.

As long as the will to fight is there, the possibility for victory exists.

「–Patra. I won’t let you have Aria.」

At my words, Aria turned red… Patra stared, clearly puzzled… Katze’s eyebrows furrowed, and she forcibly thrust the muzzle of the gun forward.

「Humph!『I won’t let you have Aria』? Do you have a crush? Are you trying to do her some kind of favour? How about I give you a bullet for a Christmas present? Such sappy lovers were sent off to the internment camps! If I shoot you now, a bullet will put an end to such talk!」

Eyebrows arched, Katze put more strength into her trigger finger.

「Yes, if she shoots you in the head, you shall die, Kinji Tohyama.」

Patra intoned, tilting her small neck and causing her golden necklace to jingle.

「I’ve heard the rumours about you stopping bullets with your bare hands. But even you can’t do it at point-blank range, can you?」

Katze said, her cheeks spreading into a grin–Raising and thrusting out the hand without the gun at an upward angle, she performed a Nazi salute.

「Seig Heil!」

–Then pulled the trigger.

In that instant–

Point-blank range? Not at all.

My world came to an almost standstill. In Hysteria Mode, everything became『super slow』–

My sense of time immediately stretched out, experiencing the world like a super high-speed camera…and I came up with a new technique.

A short while ago, I used『Contradiction』to defend myself against Son’s laser–And I consciously drew upon those same principles.

Now then, Katze…You said it was point-blank range, but that is not the case.

Even if the muzzle is pushed up against my head, the distance between the bullet and myself is not zero. Inside the gun, before firing, the bullet has to be chambered, and there is a small distance between chamber and muzzle. There is a moment of time before the bullet leaves the barrel–

Kitsuka, Clear Fall Water– Zetsurou–Ouka,Ouka!

There are 26 bones between my cervical vertebrae and tailbone. Wrapped around them are the erector spinae, splenius capitis, and minor rhomboid muscles, and I can use them all together to moved my head in the same direction as the bullet at a speed of about 1,100 KPH. This total muscle coordination technique, like a reverse Ouka, formed a deceleration defence, Ouka + Clear Fall Water from a standstill.

In order to avoid self-inflicted injury from the shockwave, I limited the speed to a subsonic level– at a speed of 125 KPH, even if it draws blood, the bullet will not penetrate my skull.

This is not the end, Katze.

From one knee, I backflipped in a wheel-like motion, turning my enemy’s attack back on them with Zetsurou.

Kicking out my right leg at full speed with Ouka–I pushed my torso in a backward loop in a subsonic kick. With a *Fwipsh!*, I kicked Katze’s golden gun.

I pulled off a 360 degree somersault, and just as my brain was about to collide with the inside of my skull, I shot out my left leg with Ouka straight into the floor. The shock of impact matched the movement of my skull to my brain–completely avoiding the onset of a concussion.

In the very next moment, my sense of time returned, and the sound of my impact with Katze’s hand and the floor reached my ears at about the same time. Pieces of the Luger P08 scattered, embedding themselves in the ceiling and cracks in the concrete floor spread out from underneath my foot.

The bullet grazed my head, smashing the window behind me and flying off into empty space.

To the outsider, however–

It looks like I was shot and fell backwards.

At least for the first half of the technique.

But for the second half, somehow after being shot in the head, the window behind me shattered, the pieces of Katze’s gun spattered against the ceiling, and landed a backflip… in some inexplicable event. Then…

「…?」

With both hands now raised in salute, Katze said:

「…Huh?」

Patra sighed, and the captured Aria gasped.

「…!」

Making a confused face, and not understanding what happened.

It worked out well, but to be honest, I don’t completely understand it myself.

「Ah… Katze. I believe that we can agree, we shouldn’t use guns on an oil tanker.」

I said as I stood, grinning wryly with streams of blood flowing from my head down both sides of my nose…

Good, nothing is broken. Nothing fractured either. Being hard-headed was a good thing.

The amount of blood looks bad, but a scalp wound will bleed dramatically. However, it’s not as bad as it looks.

Cradling her right hand, Katze stepped back to where Patra stood.

「Tch! I knew this would happen!」

「I expected something of the kind.」

Uhh… wasn’t my superhuman performance a reason for you to want to stop fighting? If you’re not even a bit surprised, what was the point in doing it?

In that moment, there was a *Whoosh!* sound–

Patra’s hand that had been restraining Aria, moved toward the window where something had flown in.

As soon as the hand moved away from Aria, the steam that had been rising from her body suddenly ceased.

I’m very bad with ESP powers, but I could tell just by looking. The thing that had flown in was counteracting the curse.

A swirling black object had slipped into the room through the window and then back out…

A bat–?

With a gasp, Aria collapsed next to me–heaving air in and out. She was normalising her breathing. Her dried-out twin-tails spread out slightly, and she looked like she was parched… It looked like she was in a serious condition.

Our enemies, however, had retreated to the veranda–

Instead of paying attention us, Katze and Patra were watching carefully outside the windows.

As soon as Aria and I looked up…

「…!」

Mixed with the dark night sky, a swarm of black bats approached. They floated like a black storm could.

What was most notable about it, however, was that suspended from the swarm…

「–Kin-chan! I’ve come to help you!」

Riding on small trapeze swing seat, was Shirayuki.

Like and early 80’s1 Magical Girl anime, she demonstrated a horrible new way to fly. How did you get here from Rampan Castle? Aren’t you a bit embarrassed?

Rushing forward with the swarm of bats, Shirayuki smoothed down the front of her skirt– with her hand pressing down her skirt, she blew into the room.

Then rolling across the floor, she set her feet, standing between us and Katze and Patra.

「–Kin-chan, which one hurt you?」

Anger causing her voice to rise, she drew her sword with a hiss. From behind her school uniform, she drew Irokaneayame.

Next to her, the bats coalesced…

「Now then, I wonder which one of you I shall impale.」

Before my eyes, Hilda appeared, carrying a trident.

Of all the people left at Rampan Castle, they sent in the two most powerful ESPers first.

The Fire Witch, Lightning Witch–against–The Witch of Cursed Water and the Sand Witch.

Four witches squared off in the Shima Hari’s captain’s cabin, it was like the opening scene of some Horror flick….

But what had already happened was that the sand was being stirred up inside the room.

「A smokescreen…? Are they planning to escape?」

Choking out the words, Aria said,

「Idiot. It’s a change in tactics. I’m oxygen deprived, but I’m not dying.」

「Hohoho! There is not much time left.」

The fog and sand swirled, becoming thicker and thicker, concealing Katze and Patra from sight.

Finally, the entire room was hidden and– *Flap!* *Flap!* *Flap!*

With fully restored wings, Hilda blew away all the fog and sand–

But Katze and Patra had already escaped from the veranda.

Having formed a paper aeroplane-like glider out of sand, they were already 100 metres away at the starboard deck railing below. There, two Anubis guards were standing by with something carried on a palanquin between their shoulders…

…A torpedo…!?

No, I remember now. Back when she was a part of I.U., Jeanne used the same kind of thing called Orcus–a supercavitation torpedo–and this looks like a modified version of it, a mini-sub. There were 2 of such craft there.

Are they planning to use that to escape from Hong Kong? And from the tanker–because after exploding, it will become an oxygen-less hell.

「You’re awefully quick to run away, aren’t you!」

While reloading both of her guns’ magazines with a *Ka-chick!* *Ka-chick!*, Aria rushed out on to the veranda.

*Bang!* *Bang!* *Ba-ba-bang!*

Despite the fact that they are out of range, she unleashed a furious volley of .45ACP bullets.

From her two differently coloured guns, she fired 14 bullets–*Click!* *Click!* *Click!* *Click!*

With a violent metallic sound, one of the Orcus’ propellers were destroyed.

Seeing that, Katze and Patra became flustered, but they quickly adapted to the situation.

One of the Anubis guards then lifted Patra up to the other Orcus, then did the same to Katze who also entered…*Poof!* Using the Anubis guard’s body as a sacrifice, a smokescreen went up.

Then there was a *Splash!*

On the other side of the smokescreen, the Orcus that they had so desperately defended made a sound as it entered the ocean.

「…!」

Aria ground her teeth in what looked like an unconscious manner, but it’s not like there was no way that they both couldn’t be on the Orcus. Back when Shirayuki and I rode in one, however, it was extremely cramped.

「Oh, right! Depth charges! Somebody get me depth charges!」

*Tap!* *Tap!*

Aria paced the veranda deck while talking like an English warship captain frustrated with a U-Boat, stamping hard in her unique manner.

…Well, we can’t follow them now. We’ve missed our chance to catch them.

Shaking my head, and holstering my Beretta… I looked up to the sky, where the sound of a propeller could be heard.

Stepping out on to the veranda, I saw it was a hydroplane. It was coming from the direction of Rampan Castle.

In order to avoid the exhaust from the tanker, it was at quite a considerable altitude–*Pa-Poof!*

A parachute unfurled into the night sky. 4 of them.

With my Hysteria Mode augmented eyesight, I could tell that it was Riko, Reki, Kou, and even the glasses-wearing Koko–Jinyan.

…Of course, you appear when you can’t help against the enemy.

I’m grateful for the reinforcements, but when Shirayuki’s group arrived– Aria had already been defeated, and I’d been shot.

As for Riko and her group, they arrived after Katze and Patra had escaped.

We came against them too slowly, and one at a time. Katze and Patra are more used to fighting than us.

*****************************************

The Golems still defended the deck, so Riko landed on the roof of the residency building.

As Shirayuki treated my head wound, our reinforcements converged at the pilot house–

「The current was running against us, so we couldn’t come by boat, so we took a hydroplane from the Tathong Channel. We planned to arrive 5 minutes earlier, but maybe we were a tee~nsy bit late. Ki-kun, are you okay?」

She asked regretfully, taking in our condition and observing the state of the ship.

「I’m fine… What about Kou? I don’t see her.」

I asked as I looked around, seeing only Riko, Reki, and Jinyan.

「Kou landed on the deck. The sand gowems were twying to enter the building. She went to stawp them.」

Jinyan prompted, and looking outside the window toward the deck–

In front of the building, Kou brandished Green Dragon Crescent Blade and mowed down the golems one by one.

Even though Patra is a considerable distance away, she must be able to control their movements pretty well by concentrating hard enough. Their movement were pretty well coordinated, and they were thronging the residence building.

「Kou…!」

I was worried for her, but with a–

「Uwaaaaa!!」

I heard Kou raise a courageous voice while her cut-off sailor suit fluttered.

She has the power not only to defend the building, but even to force them back.

「Don’t get the wong idea! Kou and I are not fighting only for you! We’re fighting for Hong Kong too! First things first, we hawve to twy to get the ship under contwol!」

Jinyan shrieked at us–

Leaving Kou to defend the building, she took the role of going around to examine the several pieces of steerage machinery.

–Kou!

You always had low confidence in yourself and were timid and thought you couldn’t do anything even if you tried. You’re actually just as strong as Son.

That has to be the case. Up until recently, Son was a formidable enemy of mine… but you both share the same heart. Anything Son can do, you can do. All you need is a bit of courage. And it was for everyone else’s sake that you mustered up this courage, wasn’t it, Kou?

****************************************************************

The steering machinery were just about totally destroyed, but that didn’t stop Jinyan from trying–

Meanwhile, the rest of us headed out onto the deck to help Kou wipe out the rest of the golems.

Finally, our enemies were reduced to sand and fluttering Nazi military uniforms.

With all the skull badges scattered about, the ship now had the aura of a ghost ship.

Puffing, Kou leant on Shirayuki and Reki’s shoulder.–

「–Stawping the ship doewsn’t look like it will be easy to do. Eqwuipment has been stwategically destwoyed evewywhere.」

Not just in the pilot house, but down to the 5th deck–Jinyan glumly informed us after inspecting the Engine Room.

The tanker is just past the middle of Victoria Bay.

We have about 10 minutes left.

「Well, I didn’t think it would be that easy to stop, but we can’t just leave. There’s no way all the people in Hong Kong can evacuate. So, anyone have any ideas?」

Stowing her guns, Aria asked everyone with perspiration standing out on her forehead.

Afterwards, as Riko looked out across the broad deck–

「Back in I.U., I took lessons from Katze. She’ll use explosives to vent the crude oil. Putting explosives along the bottom of the tank, along with cracks a few metres long–after detonation, the whole ship will split under the tanker’s own weight and water pressure from below. It will break in half, just like a raw egg’s shell.」

「If that happens, then won’t the tanker explode?」

Aria asked, but Riko shook her head from side to side.

「In order to prevent that, she’ll have only used special directional charges. I feel like she probably used a bunch of claymores facing down. Placing them on the bottom of the cargo tank, she would perforate the bilge and ballast tanks while also limiting the explosion to the seawater side to a minimum level. This way, the seawater will immediately extinguish any fire and prevent a huge explosion.」

These terrorists, coming up with such plans–

It’s ingenious, and they are quite clever.

That’s… pretty hard to deal with. even with my Hysteria Mode enhanced intelligence, I didn’t have a clear idea on what to do.

「But with only 10 minutes– Searching this huge ship to find the placed explosives and taking them off the bottom of the crude tank… It’d be like an unbeatable level!」

Riko said, biting her lip while the bomb expert–Jinyan spun around.

She took one of her black twin-tails in hand, put her mouth close to it, and said something in Chinese. It seems there must be some kind of communication equipment in her hair.

Then–

「–The expwosives will be set off by the weaction of the tanker impawcting the shore. Rampan can extend that pewiod of time!」

Looking back out over the sea, she said something else into her communicator.

Looking where Jinyan’s gaze was directed–on the ocean behind the tanker… I could see a light.

Out of the darkness, a speed boat appeared, following close behind the tanker. But no, it wasn’t just one boat.

Across the waves, I saw 2, 3 lights… that quickly multiplied to 10, then 20.

They were all boats. Countless ships, racing across the waves after the runaway tanker.

Rampan’s fleet followed from the Eastern side of Victoria Bay. Thanks to Katze’s escape, it appears that ocean currents returned to normal.

Tall cruisers, Coast Guard cutters, small ferries, freighters in the process of dumping their cargo, and fishing vessels… one after another, in order of speed capability, they began to catch up.

The first to pull even with the tanker was a speed boat, and from its deck–

「–Kinji-san! We have come to help as well!」

Shokatsu…!

He shouted through a megaphone.

While his Imperial Court robes whipped wildly in the wind, Shokatsu gave us a bow, before turning to face the flotilla. He then issued an order in Chinese.

Closing in on the tanker, first one ship, then another began throwing large, home-made hooks attached to ropes. Then, after 2 or three misses, they attached to our ship– then decelerated and began to drop back.

Then with a sudden *Fwap!*, the line lengthened and went taunt.

With a group of only several to several hundred tonne craft them, they were attempting to pull a gigantic 150,000 tonne tanker back from crashing into the west shore of Victoria Bay.

Each ship’s power was almost miniscule, but their numbers steadily grew. Within two minutes, their number exceeded 50.

Looking out, I also saw the other 3 Koko sisters in their own motorboats–folding fans spread out, giving direction and managing the boats.

「–Maa5 ngai5 gik1 baai6 daai6 zoeng6!2」

With Shokatsu encouraging them–from the numerous vessels,

Uoooooo!!!!

–A battle cry was raised.

With his power… Shokatsu was able to mobilise hundreds of people at once.

He was even able to manage the position and course of each of the scattered tiny boats. This isn’t even a straightforward tug-of-war; the slightest error will capsize the boats.

Even so, these hundreds and thousands of people were being managed to great effect. And the one able to control these thousands was Shokatsu.

At his command, they came for him. The power of thousands. He is the very model of Charisma.

「–What did you shout, Shokatsu?」

「『Ants can defeat Elephants』!」

Ah! I understand. Because ant have large numbers, they can beat an elephant. That makes us–

A giant elephant whose back they are biting. And these attackers have long, sharp pincers.

***************************************************************

The tanker slowed due to Rampan’s human wave tactics… but even they couldn’t make up for the incomparable size difference.

The tanker is still on its way toward the west shore.

「I say we’re making abouwt 21 knots. We hawve 19 minutes, Kinchi. Then we’ll hit the northwest end of Wictoria Bay–just abouwt at the foot of the ICC.」

Jinyan recalculated the time limit as we ran down the middle of the deck, our footsteps tapping.

As she kept up with me, we found Shirayuki and Hilda with both their hands clasped, seemingly aimlessly pacing the deck with sweat standing out on their foreheads.

Aria, Riko, Reki, and Kou watched…

「–They’re searching, right?. Using ESP… to determine the location of the explosives.」

I asked abruptly.

Reki nodded.

Shirayuki and Hilda’s hands were clenched. They moved in the same direction–taking the same number of steps.

Somehow or other, I was able to figure that out. This is… something like『table-tipping』.

「–Here. Below us. Or thereabout…」

Shirayuki said with intense concentration, opening her eyes and staggering to lean on Reki for support.

「On the fourth central cargo tank.」

Hilda said, similarly dizzy as Riko leant her a shoulder.

According to Jinyan, the ship is a grid of crude oil tanks numbered from 1 through 7 and divided into three sections–starboard, centre, and port tanks.

In preparation, Katze and Patra opened the partitions so that when the ship’s bilge is fractured, all the crude will spill out…

The explosives were laid dead centre.

「Thanks, Shirayuki and Hilda, but how are we supposed to find something submerged within the crude oil?」

I asked glancing at my watch, as everyone exchanged glances.

Until refined, petroleum has a low degree of transparency, and crude oil is like muddy black water. We wouldn’t be able to see anything underneath the surface, much less at the bottom.

「We could dive in some kind of diving suit and look for it.」

Kou suggested–

「An oxygen tank regwiwator wouldn’t work too well under cwude oil.」

Jinyan answered with a shake of her head.

「Then how are we supposed to find it? Even Kinji probably couldn’t do a free dive.」

Aria, drop that『probably』. I categorically refuse. My skin would melt.

I turned to glare at Aria.

「–What about uwsing that?」

Jinyan pointed at the Orcus whose propeller Aria had recently destroyed.

*****************************************

Originally, the Orcus was developed for comings and goings from I.U.– so naturally being familiar with its construction, Jinyan knew that the danger due to the crude oil was almost none existent.

Behind the Orcus, the tanker had a jib crane with a hook… and the Orcus was raised and hoisted with it.

Opening the hatch, Jinyan boarded it to check the electronics worked–

「The Orcus haws a small, rowbot awm. You can uwse that to grawb the expwosives.」

I heard that difficult thing, but there’s no time to hesitate. We’ve already used about 10 minutes to prepare.

「I’m sorry to say, but we do not know the exact location of the explosives. We can only detect『That it is somewhere below here』. You will have to search around a bit.」

As everyone looked on anxiously, Hilda stated frankly to Jinyan–

「…So, we’ll hawve to feel awound with the awm. It’s unavoiwdable. So, move as fawst as I can.」

Jinyan grimaced as she replied.

「That’s…」

Aria groaned hopelessly.

…Impossible.

Starting with the kind of information like『It’s somewhere around here』, won’t it be like searching for a needle in the desert?

Until now, we’ve all been able to work together to get back home alive–

But we can’t all stick together going forward.

–But…I can’t keep relying on everyone.

The one who can pull this off is the man who makes the impossible, possible–

「I’ll drive, Jinyan. I want to try something. I have an idea.」

–It’s up to me.

There isn’t any time left. Glancing at my watch, there are about 8 minutes left.

Placing my hand on the Orcus’ hatch, I swung a foot up and stepped inside without a word.

Seated behind Jinyan, we were in a position like two people riding on a motorbike.

Inside… There was a book in German, and a pocket watch with a swastika on it that appear to be part of Katze’s personal belongings. The second Orcus looks like it’s Katze’s. My upper body sticking out of the cramped space, I felt Jinyan’s back pressed against mine–*Ka-chick!*

Trying to close the hatch, Jinyan stood up in front of me. *Squish!*

「…!」

I grabbed hold of something.

Jinyan’s smallish butt.

A cheek in either hand…! S-so soft…!

「Wh-wh-what are you gwabbing at a time like this!? You’re suppowse to gwab the expwosives, not my butt!」

Whipping around, Jinyan delivered a backwards kick to my chest–She was wearing hakama-like trousers, though, so the important parts were covered. Thankfully. The kick did hurt though.

「What the heck are you doing, Stupid-Kinji? You don’t have much time!」

「Kin-chan…?」

「Oooooh! That’s Ki-kun for you! No matter when, you always manage to seize the opportunity, you lucky bastard!」

「…」

Aria struck me on the head with a double *Thump!* with the back of both her swords, then as a final blow, the stock of a Dragunov whacked me on the top of a head like a Whac-A-Mole as I sat inside the vehicle.

Wh-what just happened intensified my Hysteria mode… but you didn’t have to hit me on the head! Although Shirayuki did treat me, I was just shot.

****************************************************

Our final gambit in this tanker-jacking–removing the explosives.

Heading toward the Orcus, myself from Baskerville and Jinyan from Rampan boarded it.

In order to protect all of the people of Hong Kong, in both name and in actuality, distinctions of friend and enemy have disappeared.

…*Ka-click!*…

As soon as the Orcus’ hatch closed, it instantly became dark and a camera view of the outside displayed on the interior wall. Sensibly, the entire front section was made to look like it was made of glass.

Outside, the west side of Victoria Bay and the ICC building stood out.

If we crash into that, it will be the end of the story.

Jinyan put up a timer on the display indicating how much time was left until detonation– there’s 6 minutes 52 seconds left.

「Hawf-Sky Monitor, functioning. Pwease open the oil tank hatch.」

In a voice with some heat directed towards me, Jinyan passed me the internal intercom.

『Roger. Opening now!』

Aria’s anime voice came back over the intercom.

On the monitor, Aria, Shirayuki, Reki, and Kou worked together to turn and open the valve–

It was shaped like a large man-hole cover, and they opened the fourth, central tank.

As soon as they opened the huge cover, they all moved away as fast as they could. Inside the tanker, it’s filled with toxic, volatile petroleum and inert gases.

「From here on, open flames are prohibited.」

『I know that, you lecher!』

Why are you accusing me of doing something like that now, Aria?

『Riko, activate the hoist winch!』

Aria shouted at the crane overhead–

With a rumbling sound, Riko lifted the Orcus.

Jinyan and I are in our seats and facing downwards.

Then, careful not the hit the edges, the crane carefully and slowly lowered the Orcus into the tank.

Although it was covered in paint, the Orcus was made of metal. If it were to hit, then sparks would fly–there would be a sudden flash– then *Boom!*

「–!」

All of a sudden, Jinyan, myself, and everyone else gasped.

The wind had gusted and pushed the Orcus to hit the opened oil tank’s cover.

That was exceptionally hard. But… w-we’re alright. There doesn’t appear to have been any sparks.

Even so… Jinyan stared at one portion of the screen, licking her lips. There, an indicator was getting smaller, one number at a time.

「Is something wrong?」

「Something is wong. But we hawve to keep going anyway.」

「Great.」

As we had this conversation… In the Orcus, Jinyan and I entered the pitch black oil tank where any human would quickly be overcome by the noxious gases and pass out.

『Jinyan, are you alright? The airtight seal isn’t broken, is it?』

Aria asked, but Jinyan…didn’t answer.

「The air is great.」

I answered for her.

No matter what, we have to keep going. Further into this cursed water.

With an oily slurp, the tip of the Orcus broke the surface of the oil.

Maintaining its viscosity as we sank, there was a peculiar pressure exerted on the entire shell of the craft.

「It’s very… sticky. I wonder if we’ll sink all the way to the bottom?」

「The Shima Hari was cawing Indonesian Minas filed oil. It’s pawaffin based cwude with a high viscosity, while the specific gwavity is low. Thewe’s almost no wesitance. Don’t worry.」

Jinyan explained as we continued to be lowered.

Even with lights on, our field of view was limited to 30 cm.

An inside the oil… it was hot.

The oil probably retained the heat from the extraction process. It was probably about 25 degrees.

*Creak!*… At a strange noise from the hull, I furrowed my brow–

「In owder to acheive speed, the Owcus sacwificed pwessure wesistance. Uwsually, the fwame is covewed in evapowated seawater, and it cwuises at a shawow depths. It was never intened to diwve deep.」

「What kind of pressure was it designed for?」

「2 atmowsphewes.」

「What are we at now?」

「2.3 atmowsphewes. Nowmally, the tanker will maintaiwn the density of the cwude oil, but undouwtedly the pwessure regwulator has been shut off in owder to help dispewse the oil. As we diwve, the pwessure will only increase.」

With a *Thud!*… several times, the Orcus collided with the reinforcement struts on the inside of the oil tank.

Each time it happened an overwhelming chill gripped my insides, but finally… with a *Ka-Thunk!*…the Orcus finally returned to the original angle as when we boarded. We reached the bottom of the tank.

「…」

But we could hardly see anything. At the very least, we couldn’t see the explosives from what was visible.

There was a little more than 5 minutes remaining to detonation.

Operating the manufacturing robot arm extending from the tip of the Orcus, Jinyan began groping around in the darkness… but it appears that there’s no response.

「Kinchi, what should we do…?」

I wanted to answer, but when I tried– I had this strange, choking feeling.

I don’t think that it’s likely due to the heat. My vision began to swim.

Rubbing my eyes, I noticed my breath becoming heavy…and Jinyan said:

「Wight now, insiwde the Orcus.. there isn’t any oxygen! Back when it was shot… That… ha!…must hawve… ha!… been when it bwoke!」

Is that… the reason for the choking? In exchange for its incredible abilities, it is quite a fragile vehicle.

My consciousness was hazy– but I pressed my right hand, right ear, and right hand to the inside of the Orcus.

Then with my left hand… *Bam!* Bam!* Bam!*…

I struck the inner wall in a regular pattern like a submarine’s sonar.

I concentrated on the echo…

I strained all my nerves in Hysteria Mode, pouring all my focus into my sense of hearing.

Aria, Shirayuki, Hilda, Riko, Reki, Kou, Shokatsu, and Rampan– They all have formed a relay chain leading to coming home alive.

And the anchoring member… that is my role…!

「Kin..chi…」

Jinyan spoke faintly, due to the lack of oxygen.

With a *Drip!* *Drip!*, beads of sweat from the heat dropped from my forehead.

The explosives– they’ve got to be here.

They’re definitely somewhere around here. I believe in Shirayuki and Hilda.

The echoes… were indistinct. But maybe…

「Back on the right side… Jinyan. at five o’ clock… Put the arm there. Just do it…!」

Holding my breath, I whispered close into Jinyan’s ear.

Fading in and out of consciousness… even while unable to see the monitor… Jinyan operated the grasping arm, moving it through the crude oil. She mustered the last of her strength.

But even so, the tip of the arm just waved through empty space. There’s only 3 minutes left until detonation…!

It no good. We can’t go back now; the explosion would happen while we are being pulled out.

…It has to be here…!

I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment.

With the robotic arm stretched out to its full reach– suddenly…. there was a *Clang!*…and contact.

There was something on the bottom of the tank. Even though we couldn’t see it.

…Is it magnetic…?

It was magnetic. The explosives were definitely attached to the bottom of the tank with magnets.

The magnets had caught the robot arm.

「G-grab it, Jinyan!」

I managed to choke out those words, but Jinyan– had already fainted.

Trying to imitate what I had seen her do, I placed my hand over hers and gripped the control yoke–

「…!」

Do I have the explosives? I’m not sure. There’s no way to tell for sure.

「Up…!!!」

I managed to gasp into the microphone– as I fainted in a wave of nausea.

—

—-

I felt like… someone was holding me…

Something smelled awfully nice. I wouldn’t use these words, but it was a beautiful scent.

It was the scent of Gardenia flowers–

「…A…Aria…?」

「You’re awake! Take deep breaths.」

Upon opening my eyes, I found myself face up with my head resting in Aria’s lap.

Reki was holding a pump-style oxygen respirator to my mouth.

In the Orcus, I couldn’t feel the breeze–

Now I’m on the deck of the ship, under the night sky.

And standing near everyone else was a large guy…

「Tankers are great, huh, Kinji! Of all boats, they’re my favourite!」

…Mu-Mutou…?

He had come on the same Caravan II trip as us, Logi’s Mutou Gouki–

With a Butei High blazer draped over a shoulder, he surveyed the deck happily.

「…!」

Panicking, I raised my upper body and saw Jinyan further up the deck.

As she suddenly collapsed with her eyes rolling back, Kou applied an oxygen mask.

Noticing that I had sat up, however, she took out and spread feminine looking fan with a『Cao』character written on it from her sleeve and flourished it.

The lid to the oil tank was already closed, but above it–

The Orcus and explosive dangled like linked sausages from the crane.

It seems that the robot arm was stronger than I thought, the tip of it having wrenched the explosives free–but they appeared to have been cleaned off because it looked like it was covered in water instead of oil.

Sitting on a constructed bamboo scaffolding with a dismantled detonator taken from the long tube-like explosives in one hand and flashing a peace sign with the other– was AMDO’s Hiraga-san…!

「H-how did you get here…Mutou?」

「You called me. We got a call in the eating house, and it didn’t even take 5 minutes to get a car from the Hong Kong Yakuza and drive over. All of a sudden there was a tanker there. You owe me for the shumai. Oh, Ansai and Katori got the engines stopped. By the way, we’re still inching forward. We’re still moving forward under inertia. We might hit just a little bit.」

Holding the mobile that was used to contact him in hand, Mutou grinned.

The shoreline was very close. We were close enough to pick out the individual windows in the 118 storey ICC building.

If I had to guess… the Shima Hari had slowed but was still moving forward at a rate between 1-2 knots.

There’s no way to avoid collision with the shore.

「What’s that face for? This tanker is about as sturdy as a warship. The front edge is about the only thing that will collapse inward. It won’t sink, you know.」

Mutou said this as the ship continued ploughing forward… *Boom!*…!

That sound came from the bow of the ship.

Splinters burst up into the sky from the bow because Rampan’s members had figured out the spot where it would hit and threw all kinds of wood down to cushion the blow. Trees bobbed up like ocean buoys .

「–We’re docked! That wasn’t so bad.」

Mutou said from one knee–

…*Cre~ak!*…

A deep sound reverberated through the ship’s hull. It was… like a slight tremor. Aria and the rest looked nervous and almost lost their footing due to the jolt.

The collision was not enough to destroy the hull, though. As for the tanker–

–It finally came to a rest, stopped by Hong Kong itself.

**************************************************

A ladder was extended from the docked ship…

And a bunch of Hong Kong police and officials bustled onboard.

I expected there to be a misunderstanding and to be arrested, but instead they bowed to us from the ladder. Shokatsu must have gotten in contact with the police. It looks like Rampan has members within the police force.

Several dozen police officers bowed to the 5 of us from Baskerville as we climbed down to Kowloon–

Raising a victory cry, all the people of Hong Kong cheered us.

The tanker had now come to a complete halt.

What comes after… I’ll leave it to Mutou’s group, the police, and harbour officials.

Mutou looked happy… but I don’t want to ride on a tanker again.

Right now, I want to take care of my stomach. Thinking back, I haven’t eaten anything since noon.

「–Tohyama-san. Things appear to have worked out well.」

Turning toward the voice, I saw Shokatsu had also come ashore. The Koko sisters too.

「Thank-you, Shokatsu. It was all due to the extra time that your direction of the fleet gave us.」

「By no means! I did nothing. Be that as it may, you are definitely not an ordinary person, Tohyama-san.」

Eyes sparkling at Shokatsu’s praise, next to me Shirayuki nodded deeply in agreement.

「…I said it back on the North Point highway. I’m just a high school student.」

As I said that, Riko burst into laughter. From Riko’s shadow cast by the street lamps… even Hilda raised a hand to her mouth and smiled.

–*Plop!* *Pl–pl-plop!*

The Koko sisters who I couldn’t tell apart from each other, lined up in a row in front of Baskerville–

All together, they knelt on the spot.

Then striking their opposite palm with a fist, they gave a Chinese warrior style salute.

「Shei shei– shei shei. Thank-you, Kinchi. Thank-you, Awia.」

What appeared to be a teary-eyed Jinyan lowered her head to Aria and me.

Meimei to Shirayuki, Paonyan to Riko, and Juujuu to Reki– they each bowed their heads deeply.

As each of them spoke, Aria said…

「Kinji.」

While everyone’s attention was diverted from me, she stepped close and stretched up on tiptoe to whisper in my ear.

「…Thank-you. For having my back on the tanker.」

Back to back. We began the fight during the tanker-jacking in that position.

Alright. The one thing that I want to do right now is treat this rich girl Aria to an extravagant meal.

What about… my Hysteria Mode? Is this an after effect?

I get the feeling… that just a bit of it is left. In what might have been the last bit, a pick-up line was wrung out.

「Your thanks are unnecessary. My reason for living– is to protect Aria. I want to protect you after this as well. Always…」

「…Kyaa!…」

Standing beside and looking up at me, Aria’s anime voice escaped her throat.

I pressed in closer. Aria suddenly blushed red. Then being slightly pushy, I said–

「–So after this, go on a date with me.」

「Wh-wha!?」

「Didn’t we make a promise? To have a meal together at the ICC? Although we are about 3 days late.」

I said with a wink–and as her camellia eyes widened into perfect circles… Aria gulped several times.

I am just doing as I was told, like I always do.

She had already made dinner reservations.

So that settled it–right?

With a gurgle, my stomach growled just then…

Huh. I wonder if that line was a bit much being abroad.

************************************************

Why the heck am I next to the same sumo wrestler again…!?

It appears that the wrestler was booked on the same return flight, and my body was contorted like a woodwork mosaic.3 This Economy Class seat is more cramped than the Orcus.

In the end, we got back to the ICC’s top floor, where the bar restaurant OZONE was located–

But the elegant meal that I wanted to share with Aria didn’t happen.

First, the members of Baskerville arrived. Then the upper level executives of Rampan… to say nothing of the swarms of organisational members that showed up. After that, the 4 members of Carrier GA. Why are all these people here?

It seemed like the rumour of a runaway tanker had spread throughout Hong Kong, and we were generously allowed to eat at the lavish Ritz Carlton– however, that news reached us only second-hand because everyone wanted to eat. Before I noticed, it turned into a high-spirited party.

It was the first time I’d been to a Christmas Party.

Shirayuki hovered by my side the whole time, singing my praises, which made Aria mad when she saw it, and Riko and the Koko sisters caused a ruckus by twirling and dancing an AKB484 routine. Apparently knowing how to play the piano, Shokatsu provided the accompanying music.

Reki was the only one who was quiet, sitting on the terrace hugging her knees and staring off into the starry sky.

Having consumed copious amounts of Shaoxing wine and performing an original striptease called『Run-over Ondo』5that would be an embarrassment to Japan if it came to light, was Mutou acting like an idiot with Hiraga-san and Kazumi Katori

Next to them, Anzai was decimating the food on the sushi train and piling up such a stack of plates that astonished the waiter.

Well… it looks like Hong Kong wants to make a lively end to our last night here. That has to be a good thing.

After that, I returned to my small, humid business hotel… then waking up after collapsing like a log, I realised I had to catch the bus to the airport. Up until the very end, I wasn’t able to eat authentic ramen.

But that’s fine, I guess. Just like my father bequeathed the million dollar nightscape to me–

If I ever have a child, I’ll bequeath them Hong Kong ramen.

「Bwahaha! Look, Aria, they have food too! It’s all you can eat moon cakes!」

The one being loud and disruptive up in First Class… was Riko.

After the party, she had stayed up all night and headed over to Macau… She stayed in the casino until the morning and made a killing. Seemingly wanting to enjoy herself right up until the last minute, I was worried that she might miss the aeroplane.

Back at the boarding gate she had shown us a casino brochure, and the image of their mascot was a girl in a kimono. I think that she resembled someone from a crime syndicate that I had recent dealings with: the former head of the now defunct Kagataka Family, Kikuyo Kagataka-chan. Speaking of Kikuyo, she had said that she had invested in a Macau casino. The wide world is actually a small place.

Due to Rampan’s influence, all news of the tanker-jacking was suppressed… and news of a runaway tanker was reported instead. I couldn’t read the Chinese newspaper very well, but I picked out the kanji for『Japanese Butei played a very active role』written there. I’m sure it something unfortunate that Mutou would have written.

My companions’ power was enough to defeat Rampan… And not only that, but to also push Katze and Patra back…

And so, the curtain fell on the success of my first trip abroad. I can call it that, can’t I?

But– it was already too late. An issue has already manifested.

Our internal problem.

[END]

************************************************

1. Actual term is ‘Showa era’ (1926-1989)

2. In Chinese, it says something like” ‘Ants can defeat elephants’.

3. Original is Yosegi, a type of Japanese woodworking style popular in the Edo period.

4. Japanese idol group that does synchronised dancing routines.

5. ‘Ondo’ is a style of Japanese folk music often performed at cultural festivals. You can Google for some examples.