Chapter 33: A Hair's Breadth
{Rodem! Approach them slowly.}
As expected of a true battlefield mercenary.
Even with a crushing advantage, Q-Taro didn't let his guard down. He was already considering multiple possibilities.
{They've probably set a trap, just waiting for us to fall into it...}
{But don't worry, we're lucky! Our goal, yours and mine, is the very top of Kakerou!}
"Ah, behind... so dangerous. Must... kill him... fast..."
Rodem listened to Q-Taro, a rasp in his throat, his head unable to stop turning back—to look at Shiraki Kei, who was standing still.
{What's wrong? Rodem, you don't need to worry about him.}
Q-Taro paused, about to order Rodem to attack, when he suddenly heard Madarame Baku speak.
"Old man, can you hear me?"
Hm?
Q-Taro froze, forcing Rodem's camera to turn forward.
Madarame Baku's expression was relaxed. "I'd advise you to give up on 'getting Kakerou.' If you overreach, you'll only find death waiting for you!"
{Tch, Rodem, you... Wait, no!}
Q-Taro was about to give the order when he caught it. "What did [Usogui] just say?"
"He said 'getting Kakerou'—how did he know what Rodem and I were talking about?!"
The comms weren't on speaker. Baku should not have been able to hear him, unless...
A bug?!
Q-Taro felt a surge of irritation. He remembered Yako's strange action. "Yako-san, that 'pen' you just picked up. May I see it?"
Yako: "..."
To be honest, Yako was feeling a little regret.
He had only gone along with it for the entertainment, helping Baku hide the pen-bug's existence.
But that bastard Baku had clearly heard him pick it up, and so he'd incorporated it into his plan, using it to rattle Q-Taro.
Which... was rather interesting.
Wasn't Baku afraid I'd just tell Q-Taro about the bug?
But what was done, was done. Baku's ability to exploit a sudden opportunity was brilliant.
"..."
Seeing Yako remain silent, Q-Taro was furious.
He drew his sword-cane, smashed the pen with one blow, and then pointed the blade at Yako.
"This is a bug! Yako, you bastard, care to explain?"
Q-Taro seethed. "As the referee—you're taking sides?!"
"..."
Yako was unfazed. "Master Ko... Kokonoe, please don't misunderstand. This gamble has no rules."
"I may be the referee, but I am free to choose a side, or take any action I please."
Yako sighed, explaining dismissively, "Kakerou's referees all have their own... personalities and quirks."
"If it makes the gamble more interesting, I'm inclined to interject. For example, haven't I warned you several times already, Master Kokonoe?"
"..."
Yako's eyes narrowed slightly, glancing at the glittering blade. He was annoyed.
He had warned Q-Taro time and time again, but the man had refused to listen, instead mocking him and questioning his professionalism. And now he was being threatened with a blade...
To be blunt, Yako Hikoichi was not a patient man—especially with idiots.
"I haven't taken anyone's side. But even if I was helping [Usogui], you are in no position to complain!"
...
...
Sixth floor hallway.
Before the bug was destroyed, Madarame Baku heard the argument between Q-Taro and Yako.
"Oh my, are they fighting?"
Baku's lips curled. He looked past Rodem, at Shiraki Kei, who was still standing motionless, the air around him frozen.
"Looks like Kei-kun still needs time to warm up. We'll have to stall a little longer."
Baku turned his gaze to Rodem. "Get ready, you two. Q-Taro's about to lose it."
It was just as Baku predicted.
{Hmph! Yako, I knew I couldn't trust you! But now is not the time!}
{Rodem! Kill [Usogui]! Don't give them a chance to struggle!}
{Kill!}
With the command, Rodem moved, charging forward.
"Ah, here he comes."
Baku raised an eyebrow. He comforted the panicking Kaji while casually asking Akagi, "So, Akagi-san... you think we can win this bet?"
"Heh. Who knows?"
Akagi Shigeru knew Baku was just messing around. He smiled faintly. "If the odds were 100%, it wouldn't be a gamble. We've done what we can..."
Akagi's eyes shifted to the charging "demon." "From here on... it's all up to luck."
...
...
Fifth floor office.
Q-Taro's expression grew more savage.
[Usogui], you underestimate me. Did you think I wouldn't see through your little tricks?
You want to rattle me, make me angry, and seize the psychological advantage...
But I'm not one of those four morons you took out. Don't you dare try to pull a fast one on me!
...
...
Rodem was closing in. The moment of truth was here.
Now!
Baku yelled, "Akagi-san, do it!"
Q-Taro ordered: {Rodem, pick 'them' up!}
Swish!
Akagi Shigeru yanked a "steel wire."
On the side of the hallway, another pistol was hidden—one Baku had secretly planted while Rodem and Kei were fighting.
He had jammed the barrel, packed it with rocks and gunpowder, and tied the wire to the trigger.
When the wire was pulled, the gun would explode, turning the rocks into a deadly spray, like a makeshift shotgun.
As Akagi pulled the wire, a loud BANG erupted, sending a spray of shrapnel flying at Rodem.
But in the next second—
Swish!
Rodem had picked "them" up—the bodies of the mercenaries he'd killed on the sixth floor!
He held one in each hand, using the corpses as "shields" to block the shrapnel.
THWACK-THWACK-THWACK...
The bodies were torn to shreds, but Rodem was unharmed.
{Haha! On the battlefield, there's no sturdier shield than a human! I saw your plan from a mile away!}
Q-Taro ordered: {Throw them, Rodem!}
WHOOSH!
Rodem hurled the bodies forward.
They flew... but they didn't hit Baku's group. They were stopped in mid-air by... something.
The wire traps!
The space between them wasn't empty. It was filled with the same nearly-invisible wire traps!
SQUELCH!
The bodies hit the wires and were instantly sliced into pieces. Blood erupted, drenching Akagi, Baku, and Kaji in a gruesome shower.
{Hahaha! So this was your target! Did you think I wouldn't see it?}
Q-Taro switched his comms to speaker, his savage laughter echoing down the hall.
{Your real goal was to use the remaining traps on this floor against Rodem!}
{Did you really think I'd forget about my own traps?}
{Hahaha! A decent strategy! But Rodem and I are still stronger!}
But at that very moment—
Swish!
Rodem suddenly spun around, his camera focusing on Shiraki Kei behind him, who was now crouched on the ground, as if he couldn't even stand.
But Rodem couldn't look away. His animal instincts were screaming warnings.
{Nonsense... Rodem, get a grip! Turn around!}
Q-Taro slammed his sword-cane on the desk, hissing, {Get ready... to kill!}
But to Q-Taro's confusion, Rodem didn't move.
{Ngh! Rodem! What are you doing?! Kill them!}
Rodem completely ignored Q-Taro.
He was furiously rubbing his eyes, so hard that he was drawing blood, but he couldn't stop.
{Get your hands away from the camera, Rodem! Can't you hear me?!}
"Guh... ghhk..."
Rodem was making strange gagging sounds, drool and blood mixing into a mess on his face.
Baku helpfully pointed out, "Ah, no, no. Rodem's a little busy right now. You're not here, so you can't see, can you? Rodem is..."
"Covered in acid!"
{...Acid?!}
Q-Taro was stunned. {It was in the shrapnel from the explosion? You bastard, you brought something like that...}
Baku chuckled. "But that kind of trap only works if Rodem gets close."
"So, we also moved the mercenary bodies nearby... and rigged them with dust. The moment he moved them, it would fall."
"When Rodem lifted his human shields, the dust fell onto his eyes. He instinctively rubbed them... and the acid vapor got right in."
"And, he also breathed it in. He's temporarily out of commission."
"..."
Q-Taro's face was rigid. {You...}
"Heh. Despicable, isn't it?"
Akagi Shigeru smiled faintly, finally lighting a cigarette. "Victory... it's usually just a chaotic mess. The unexpected always happens."
Q-Taro was about to say something, but he heard a heavy footstep from behind Rodem.
"You can't understand, can you? You just blindly follow Q-Taro..."
"Goodbye, Rodem!"
SWOOSH!
Shiraki Kei threw a corpse off his body, leaped up, and launched a spinning kick at Rodem!
[Zangief • Spinning Cyclone Kick]!