High School Girl Warrior: How to Save an Apocalyptic World - CH 80

Chapter 80 – Bad guy

“What… What the hell are you doing, bastard!?”

The person who shouted that wasn’t neither me nor Iroha.

It was Akai, who seemed to have rushed here under Akechi’s orders.

Visibly emanating anger, Akai pointed his rifle at the Spirit Tamer.

That’s bad!

Before I could stop him, the Spirit Tamer raised one hand, “Extremely Hot Fire.”

Whoa!

A giant fire pillar rose from below Akai’s feet.

“Geaaaah!” Akai screamed as his body was charred.

“Healing Magic-!” I stopped my words midway… It was too late.

I could vaguely see Akai’s body, who was within the fire pillar.

The part that seemed to be the head fell apart, like a doll that just crumbled.

A few seconds later, the fire pillar disappeared… By then, Akai had already become charcoal.

“Whoa… A…” Iroha, who didn’t seem to understand the meaning of fear, was clearly frightened right now.

“Hey, hey, hey!?” One person exclaimed.

“Wh-what’s going on!?” Another exclaimed.

“Akai! What happened to Akai!?” A third person shouted.

“Did that guy do it!?” A fourth person asked.

People who noticed the situation started rushing in one after the other.

This is bad… If the chaos spreads, more damage might be done.

I took a deep breath, then raised my voice as loudly as I could, “Everyone, don’t interfere!”

They quieted down.

It certainly wasn’t just because of the words of a newcomer though.

They instinctively understood it… This bloody man was dangerous.

“Tell me your goal.” I told him.

“Go, go, goal…?” The Spirit Tamer seemed to be confused. As if the question was beyond his comprehension.

“I’m asking you why you’re attacking this community.” I said clearly.

“Eh?” The man titled his head, “Comyuni…?”

“The group here… Why are you attacking the people who live here?” I broke it down as simply as I could.

“Because they’re all bad guys, aren’t they?” The Spirit Tamer replied.

“Well, maybe some of them are…” I said.

“I heard that there are a lot of bullies here.” The Spirit Tamer said.

Bullies? It’s a bit of a strange word to be used in this context, but I guess it might fit?

“So, I’m gonna kill them all.” The Spirit Tamer said.

I frowned at such an extreme decision, “Just because there are bad guys here, it doesn’t mean you’re allowed to do anything you want to them.”

“Huh!?” The Spirit Tamer stomped the ground angrily, “Why!?” He seemed like a child who had his toy taken away from him, “Bad guys need to beaten! Isn’t that the right thing to do!?”

Ah, this sucks. I chose the wrong replies.

Let’s try changing the direction of the conversation, “Did someone ask you to do this?”

“Ah… I forgot who it was, but there were people. People talking about bad guys.” The Spirit Tamer replied.

“People near here?” I asked.

“Seriously…” Iroha sighed.

“I heard the rumors, and was driven by righteous indignation.” The Spirit Tamer said.

“Say what!?” Iroha was in disbelief.

“Uhn… So, you came here to do something good…?” I asked.

“Seriously…” Iroha sighed again.

“But don’t you think it’s bad to attack indiscriminately? You see, among the people you attacked, there was actually a girl who was still an elementary schooler…” I explained.

How about this? This should convince him, right?

I was thinking that at least, but the Spirit Tamer just had a blank expression on him.

“Isn’t that fine?” He replied.

What a crude reply.

“Isn’t a child in a bad guy’s place a bad guy too? Isn’t it better for her to die?” The Spirit Tamer said.

Wow… I don’t know what this is, but there is a terrifying feeling running through my back.

Anyways, I shouldn’t let that interrupt the conversation.

I’m not sure if this will work, but it’s all that I got, “There are good people here too.” I told him.

“That’s a lie!” He exclaimed.

I really can’t like this guy… He’s throwing a tantrum now. He seems about to cry even.

“In the first place! You’re one of the bad guys too!” He exclaimed.

“I just got here.” I replied.

“Lies, lies, lies!” He exclaimed.

If that’s how he is, then there is no way to convince him…

This man, whose age is unknown, was screaming while fully expressing his frustration with his whole body…

“Come, Will-o-wisp!” He exclaimed.

In an instant, a blue-white flame appeared in front of him.

My eyes met up with two hostile eyeballs.

“Sis…” Iroha turned her gaze towards me.

She seemed to be asking me what will I do. Asking if I wanted to fight.

I shook my head. Once this starts, it won’t end until one of us dies.

Solving things through combat should be a last resort.

“I’m gonna beat a lot of bad guys and get tons of compliments… Don’t get in my way…” The Spirit Tamer said.

As long as we can communicate, there should surely be a way for us to understand one another…

“Then, send these feelings towards someone else…” I tried telling him.

But then, I heard a clicking sound on my side, and a weight was dropped on my pocket.

When I looked towards it, there was something like a winged doll attached to my pants.

“Whoa?” I thought it was an insect, so I brushed it off.

But then, the doll-like creature raised its hands angrily and flew into the sky.

“Oh, sorry about that…” As I said that, I put my hand on my pocket.

What I took out was something that looked similar to a small pineapple.

A shape that I had only seen in movies.

I know what this is.

… Grenade.

“Hyah!” I exclaimed and hurriedly threw it away.

Immediately after it left my hand though, the hot air burnt through my whole body.

The explosion must have ruptured my eardrums, for I could barely hear any sounds.

However, the pain was tremendous… A normal human would have surely died instantly from this.

I don’t know what’s currently going on, because I’m deaf right now.

I just laid on my back and looked up at the night sky.

… What would happen if I pretended to be dead?

It certainly felt like an appealing idea.

But no… For now, I have to do something, even if I’m in pain.

“Healing Magic IV.” A warm green light filled my surroundings.

The pain quickly disappeared, as if it had never been there.

At the same time, I started hearing voices again.

It was the voice of the Spirit Tamer… He was laughing, a maddened laugher, “Do you see that!? Such a silly face! So uncool!” He exclaimed as he laughed.

I slowly got up, coughing.

The Spirit Tamer laughed more, “I’m the strongest!” he exclaimed.

Well… It seems like there is no way to save him… As expected.

“Iroha.” I called out to her while looking around.

I quickly found what I was searching for. The katana that was a memento from my grandfather. It was blown away by the explosion and was currently in tatters.

“What?” Iroha asked.

I briefly looked her way, just to be sure that she was safe.

“Can I ask you to buy me a few minutes? I’ll repair the sword.” I told her.

“Sure.” Iroha replied.

Her expression was filled with determination for the first time in a while, “But I may kill him, alright?”