Kamijou Touma had his back pressed up against a corner of the passageway.
He was holding the rectangular piece of bulletproof glass that had been taken out of a window frame in his hands. The heavy piece of glass weighed somewhere between 7 and 10 kg and was about a meter across.
He had found it inside the facility, so its bulletproof functionality probably wasn't that great. After all, the glass in the main entrance would be the strongest and it had all been broken in the attack.
Nevertheless, it was better than nothing.
It wasn't unusual for Skill-Out to be armed with handguns.
He felt that was at least safer than going in after sticking manga magazines down his shirt.
(…)
A man holding a stun gun was collapsed unconscious at his feet. He had hidden until the man got near and swung the bulletproof glass so the stainless steel frame hit the man on the bridge of the nose. The man had fallen backwards like he had slipped on a banana peel and ceased moving.
Kamijou had already taken out four Skill-Out members in that fashion.
If he was going to fight with enemies who had weapons, the rule he had to follow was to not even give them a chance to attack. If they both had time to prepare, he had already lost. But if he could keep them from using their weapons, he didn't have to fear their weapons. Whether it was a knife or a handgun they were using, that remained the same.
(If they were moving in groups of 2 or 3 this tactic wouldn't work. Thank god they're idiots. Every single one of them is wandering around on his own. Someone needs to teach them how to use their numbers effectively.)
He picked up the stun gun.
He was making sure to take the weapons away from the Skill-Out members he defeated, but that was more to make sure they couldn't use them again than to arm himself.
Either way, he couldn't exactly use other weapons while holding the bulletproof glass in both hands.
"Now then…Where's the Substitute Processor Storage Room?" Kamijou mumbled while picking the giant piece of glass back up.
The center of the database center was the main domed facility and there were small 2 or 3 story adjoining buildings around that.
Skill-Out was clearly gathering in the main facility, so Kamijou was using the passages linking the smaller outer buildings to circle around.
There were some buildings that only connected to the domed facility, but Kamijou hadn't come to a dead end yet. He started heading for the next building thinking he would try to go all the way around using the linking passages.
Bang! Bang!!
He heard gunshots.
"…!?"
For an instant a chill ran down his spine and he thought he had been too late, but this sounded more like the kind of disturbance that came after poking at a bee hive. Misuzu didn't have a gun of course. So it must have been someone else returning fire.
(Is it Anti-Skill? Or is there fighting between different Skill-Out members? Well, whatever it is, this is my chance!!)
Every time Kamijou came to a corner, he would carefully check around it and only move to the next building when he had made sure no one was there.
But before long he came to a dead end.
More accurately, he came to a point where the only path led to the main domed facility.
(Agh. I had a feeling it was going to come to this! Well, I can't just stop here!)
He ran along the passage and approached the door leading to the central dome.
He held his breath, stretched out his hand, hesitated, and then slowly touched the doorknob.
With the delicacy of someone defusing a bomb, he slowly turned the knob. He heard the small click as the latch moved. A thin line appeared between the door and the door frame.
He peeked inside.
A great number of business desks with computers on them were aligned in concentric circles like tree rings. The facility's lights were out, but there was a dim light covering the room so the monitors must have been working.
Four or five boys were gathered on one side of the domed building.
And a woman who appeared to be Misaka Misuzu was being forced to sit in the middle of them.
They were about 10 meters away, but the boys must have been fairly high up in the Skill-Out ranks because they were all armed with handguns. If he carelessly approached them, he would be turned to Swiss cheese.
(…This situation is almost laughably hopeless. How am I supposed to save her like this!?)
The boys appeared to be arguing. Apparently, there was a disagreement over how to deal with the firefight that had started. One side wanted to just kill Misuzu and get the hell out of there and the other side wanted to use her as a hostage.
The pro-killing side kept pushing their guns against Misuzu's head and the pro-hostage side kept pushing them away from her. At this rate, they could end up accidentally pulling the trigger and killing her without meaning to.
"Damn it…" Kamijou muttered and stepped back from the door.
(There are 4 or 5 of them. All of them have guns. I can't just yell and run in there.)
He checked the weapons he had taken from the Skill-Out members he had defeated.
He had a stun gun, a baton, and a long-range pesticide sprayer that could be used similarly to pepper spray. None of them were going to be much help here.
(This bulletproof glass takes both hands to carry. I have to choose between a weapon or a shield here…)
Kamijou looked back over at the giant piece of bulletproof glass.
(No, I can't get rid of the glass. I can't take out someone armed with a gun in one blow using a stun gun or pesticide. And after the first shot, they're sure to counterattack.)
This meant he had no choice but to go into that domed area with the bulletproof glass.
Kamijou used his palms that were damp with sweat to grab the glass again. He then approached the metal door and slightly opened it again.
The situation hadn't changed.
The 4 or 5 boys were arguing while surrounding Misuzu.
They were about 10 meters away, but rows of computer-covered desks were blocking the way.
He couldn't get to them in a straight line.
(That's pretty far away.)
But Kamijou noticed a dirty bag set down near the entrance he was standing in. It had been carelessly left on the ground right next to one of the business desks. It most likely belonged to one of the Skill-Out members. The zipper was open and spray can-like object and a handgun were sticking out.
(…)
Kamijou swallowed some saliva.
The bag was about 3 meters away, so he couldn't just reach out to it. To grab the gun inside, he would have to open the door farther and slip into the domed area.
(Can I make it?)
The facility's power was out.
The only light was the faint glow from the computers that were powered by the emergency power. He could barely see his own feet.
And the floor was covered in a thin carpet.
He couldn't exactly approach Misuzu and get her away without being noticed.
But if he only had to make it 3 meters…
He didn't know if he could actually shoot the thing, but he wanted to get that handgun.
He didn't have to make it all the way to Misuzu who was the center of attention.
He just had to make it 3 meters without being noticed.
(…I have to do it.)
Kamijou adjusted his grip on the bulletproof glass.
(I have no idea how to use a gun, but I should be able to at least threaten them if I have the same type of weapon they do. And I have this bulletproof glass. If things get bad, I have the advantage.)
Kamijou forced himself to find any little thing to be optimistic about, brought strength into his shaking legs, and placed his palm on the slightly opened steel door.
He slowly pushed forward.
The Skill-Out members showed no sign of noticing the slight movement of the door. Kamijou knelt down and headed into the domed area. He moved very slowly. The bag with the handgun in it was a mere 3 meters away, but it felt terribly far.
And then Kamijou's eyes met with Misuzu's 10 meters away.
"Eh?"
The very second she let out that noise without thinking, the Skill-Out members all looked his way.
Kamijou forcefully jumped under a nearby desk.
(That stupid woman!!)
He was trembling in fear and in real trouble. He may have hidden before they saw him, but they had clearly noticed the door standing open unnaturally.
He could tell someone was coming his way.
From under the desk, Kamijou couldn't tell who was coming or how they were armed.
He could only hear the person's footsteps approaching.
The space between footsteps wasn't uniform. As the floor was a thin carpet, it was possible the person was stopping to check for footprints left on the carpet as he approached. Kamijou wasn't sure if you could actually see the carpet clearly enough for that in the dark, but it was all over if this person could.
(Where's that handgun!?)
Kamijou looked around the area while hiding, but the bag was on the other side of the narrow pathway made from the gaps between desks. He could probably reach it if he stretched out his arm, but he'd be found right away if he did.
Imagine Breaker would have no effect on their handguns.
He could feel a cold sweat covering his back.
If felt like his heartbeat was all he could hear.
(Shit…)
He felt like his teeth were about ready to start chattering together from his trembling.
He was so tense that, the more he tried to silence his breathing, the more erratic it became.
He could hear the footsteps approaching from an area he couldn't see.
(I have to do it. If I just stay curled up here, I'll be found for sure. So I have to do it! I just need one blow. If I can get him to flinch back from that, I can pull this off. After that, I should be able to jump over to the bag with the handgun in it and counterattack before he can recover!!)
And then…
A large foot stepped down right next to Kamijou as he was kneeling down.
He couldn't wait any longer.
If he did, his opponent would get the first attack.
"!!"
Kamijou inhaled deeply and sprang up from his position under the business desk. Along with his sudden rise, he swung the bulletproof glass to the side.
A large man with a nose piercing looked at him in shock.
An instant later, the man's face disappeared from Kamijou's field of vision. With a dull noise, the Skill-Out man's body was knocked to the ground. The metal piercing must have ripped from his flesh, because it stayed oddly in the air just a bit longer.
One down.
But Kamijou was far from happy.
The bag with the handgun was right next to him, but he had forgotten to reach over to grab it.
And a boy with an oddly pale face was standing only a meter away from him.
(Two of them came looking for me!?)
Kamijou's body stiffened, but it seemed his opponent's did too. The student may have had a handgun, but he had no training or experience. He couldn't hide his shock at seeing his colleague suddenly taken out.
Kamijou heard a small metallic noise.
It was the sound of the nose piercing finally hitting the ground.
"…!!"
"…!!"
Kamijou and the pale boy both started moving, but something else happened first.
One of the men standing next to Misuzu aimed his gun at Kamijou. He must have brought up the handgun's hammer, because there was a sharp metallic noise. There were two of them next to Misuzu and one, a man with small chains wrapped around his arms and legs, held his gun with shaking hands. The other, a boy with numerous cuts in his shirt and pants, tried to stop the first, but the trigger had been pulled before he could.
"You've gotta be kidding meee!!"
Kamijou hadn't yelled that; it was the pale boy next to him.
However, there were numerous gunshots.
The thunderous roar and shockwaves from the shots made a tremendous noise.
Pain shot up Kamijou's wrists as he held the bulletproof glass. They hadn't been hit by the bullets; that was just from the shock being applied to the glass being transferred to his bones.
Meanwhile, the pale boy near Kamijou was knocked to the floor as if he had been hit by a hammer. When he noticed a dark red liquid coming from the boy's side, Kamijou gritted his teeth, but there was nothing he could do about it now.
He wasn't sure if he should take cover behind something again, but…
(Shit! I have to put a stop to that…!!)
He kept the bulletproof glass in front of him and ran towards Misuzu…or rather, towards the two Skill-Out members standing next to her.
They were about 10 meters away.
Kamijou ran between the lines of desks.
But the next round of shooting came.
The bullets hit the glass, but it was enough to almost knock Kamijou to the ground. He just barely managed to regain his balance, but more bullets hit the glass and his hands slipped from the frame around the glass.
The large window fell to the ground with a metallic noise.
He didn't have time to pick it back up.
He moved his gaze up from his hands that were covered in sweat due to pain and tension and saw two gun barrels staring back at him. This time it wasn't just the man covered in chains; the one with the sliced-up pants didn't hesitate either.
They were only 5 meters away.
Even with the fluorescent lights out, Kamijou could see the expressions on the Skill-Out members' faces. He could tell one of them had sweat dripping from his nose to his lips. The trembling gun sight, the index finger moving like a rusted puppet, and everything else in that instant that seemed devoid of all sound was burned into Kamijou's retinas.
Finally, Kamijou saw Misuzu's face at the edge of his vision.
She was sitting on the floor while yelling something in shock.
Her lips were moving, but her words didn't make it into Kamijou's head.
He couldn't move at all and it felt like time had stopped…
But then a high-pitched gunshot rang out.
Sound returned to normal.
In that instant, Kamijou seriously thought his heart had stopped.
But there was no 9mm hole in his body. He could tell that one of the two aiming at him, the one with the chains wrapped around his arms and legs, had been blown to the side. A dark red trail of blood followed him and he fell to the floor with no resistance.
Kamijou could hear Misuzu's meaningless scream.
The boy with the sliced-up pants turned his gaze to the side.
He turned in the direction of a different entrance from the one Kamijou had come in from.
Someone had shot the Skill-Out member from there.
"Y-you bastard!!" yelled the boy with the sliced-up pants as he held his handgun.
The feeling of paralysis finally left Kamijou.
Now that his freedom had come back to him like a rope hardened with glue being bent to regain its pliability, he immediately hid below one of the business desks.
Staying there, he yelled to Misuzu who was sitting in shock a few meters away.
"Get behind cover!!"
And yet Misuzu continued to sit in shock and showed no sign of moving.
"Misaka-san, get behind cover!!"
A number of gunshots drowned out Kamijou's voice.
He didn't know who had started this firefight, but a stray bullet could easily hit Misuzu like this.
(Damn it!!)
While hiding behind the business desk, Kamijou inhaled slightly.
(Can I do this…? Damn it. I have no choice but to go out in that!!)
He jumped out while still kneeling down low.
He ran 5 meters, and ran into Misuzu so as to cover her up while pushing her to the ground.
The gunshots continued.
"We're getting out of here…"
There was no point in helping to bring this battle to an end.
"Hurry!!"
Kamijou grabbed Misuzu's arm and ran towards an exit to the domed area as quickly as he could.