Scarlet 25

Scarlet 25

…

Commissioned by Sivantic

Wordcount: 2500

…

Taking a building was far more difficult without millions of insects to act on my behalf.

If you could just blow it up, then it’d still be easy, though.

I reminded Ddraig that there were kidnapped children within the facility.

Oh, right. Human children can’t survive most explosions, because they’re weak and die when left alone for a winter.

I disregarded Ddraig’s statement in favor of investigating the facility, while the Quarta and Irina took the front. Quarta was ahead of us and wielded her sword almost like a shield, while Irina struck at anyone that attacked us with Excalibur Rapidly. I only took shots if I could get a clear line of fire, without any chance of harming either of my current companions.

At a distance, the weapons used by our opponents barely made them flinch, but I didn’t want to test their protections at point-blank range.

Understanding my limits, I took up the role of supporter at the back of the group. Every now and then I knocked on the walls, to make sure that they were solid and not hiding some sort of hidden door that would let us get flanked. Quarta and Irina were left with the lion’s share of the work within the confines of the hallways, but I did my best to provide them with as much support as I could. I strained my eyes, ears, and mind for any potential tricks and traps, searching for places where I’d place them myself.

The Exorcists weren’t very good. I didn’t find anything.

Why would you? They’re obviously more prepared for Devils. They probably just wanted to fight the Exorcists head on. Enemies they should be equal to or superior to. Humans only use their brains when they think they’re going to lose.

I was about to make a comment when we reached a thick, armored door… which Quarta proceeded to cut apart in an instant to reveal a large, inner chamber which led to different sections of the facility. The signs were in English, probably because most of the Exorcists were from abroad and from different places, so I could read them well enough.

The generator room, which I presumed also had some sort of magical way to power the sensor system meant to detect Devils, was our main goal.

However, as I moved towards it, I found myself alone.

Irina looked at me with discomfort while Quarta simply met my gaze. Both Exorcists had started walking towards the section designated the testing area, where the kidnapped children were presumably being kept.

Our priorities were suddenly different… but I saw no reason to force them to come with me.

“Go loud. Attract as many of them towards you. I’ll make sure reinforcement get to you.” I raised my hand before they could argue with me. I understood why they wanted to go after the children. Their priorities were morally correct, and maybe even logically correct. They faced so little resistance so far that they thought it better to just go forward. I couldn’t fault that logic, especially since rushing forward would save kids. However, I didn’t believe in leaving things to chance… and I would just slow them down. “Go fast and hard. I’ll take care of the defenses. Don’t worry about me.”

Irina looked like she was ready to argue, to force me to stay with them, but Quarta grasped her shoulder and pulled her along after giving me a single nod.

While I didn’t like the heavy-handed Exorcist, since she tried to ambush me and renege on her deal, I appreciated the fact that she knew that I didn’t need to be cared for.

With that unspoken agreement, we split up and I moved towards securing our victory, while they took on a greater risk for the sake of hostages.

I could only hope that our decision played out correctly.

Why hope? Pop Scale Mail and make sure!

Ddraig’s advice was sound, but I refrained from following it.

Everything was still too easy. I felt like I was missing something. My instincts were telling me to conserve my limited power and prepare.

I didn’t know what it was, but my instincts saved me more times than I could count over two lives.

So, I moved forward towards the second-most defended location in the facility without either Irina or Quarta.

If Sitri found out what I was doing, I was sure that she’d turn me into a Devil just so that she could kill me herself

However, in the end, she didn’t need to find out.

And, if she did find out, all I’d have to do was show it off as a massive risk that paid off.

Then, she’d have no right to complain.

Man, you have a girlfriend and bunch of others after you, but you’re still somehow blind, huh? Do you seriously think Sitri’s going to be fine with you risking yourself so much, just because your risk paid off? That Devil will murder you regardless.

Once again, I ignored Ddraig. This time it was regarding his assertions that Sitri somehow either thought of me as either a romantic interest or as a close friend. In regards to the former, I was dating her best friend, and in regards to the latter… well I didn’t think of her that way.

She’d hired me. I’d completed our contract. She upheld her part of the bargain.

We barely spoke to one another nowadays with my point of contact with Devils switching to Rias.

She’d only be angry at me if I failed and died.

…and I thought dense protagonists were just a part of fiction. I really need to apologize to a lot of authors.

I wasn’t being dense!

Sitri has never showed being interested in me whatsoever!

…

I did my best to stay calm as I fought through the defenses between me the defensive systems of the facility.

Without either of the Holy Sword Wielders, I had to improvise and use Boosted Gear and my limited stamina.

You’ve trained plenty! Stop worrying about it!

Ddraig’s roared encouragement into my ear, as I brought up the body of an Exorcist between me and withering bolts of light.

The facility smelled like burnt pork and blood as I broke through the defensive lines of the enemy. My primary weapon was the Light Pistol I acquired from Freed. It put down an Exorcist in two shots. One if I managed to put one in their head. However, with their numbers and increasing desperation, I also had to make use of some more brutal forms of attack.

An Exorcist rushed me from the end of a hallway. He brandished his blade of Light as he charged. The beam of light cut through the walls of the hallway with ease, and his compatriots fired at me as he charged. Their aim was better than mine and their shots didn’t even come close to their vanguard.

I scored a hit on one, but two others were laying fire upon me, so I had to improvise… and charge myself.

Right through them! Don’t stop! Never back down!

Ddraig’s roar resounded in my head as I pushed my legs to their limits. Two Boosts meant my body was operating under four times the strain it was designed to operate in. The Boosts affected me wholistically. My strength, toughness, and stamina all increased until I lost my reserves of “magic.” Expending that increased strength, toughness, and stamina drained that magic, since it had to be replaced.

However, it wasn’t as simple as one of those three things being lost when I used them.

All three were expended at once and fed off my reserves of magic, because greater feats of strength required more stamina and a stronger body to endure it.

As physically fit as I was, I high-schooler with my physique couldn’t heft a full grown man with one hand and go at a full sprint.

So, when I charged, I committed to the action and gave it my all.

That surprised my opponents, but they were trained to respond to superhuman feats with more firepower and determination, since they were trained to face Devils.

The torrent of fire impacting the body I held up intensified and its weight began to lessen rapidly. The charging swordsman doubled down on his sprint and raised his blade high over his head, leaving himself defenseless, and committing himself entirely to attack.

However, they made the mistake of not using any explosives to stop me.

The floor tiles cracked under my feet, as I leveraged both my increased strength and speed into the charge.

I outstripped the reaction time of the vanguard and smashed the carcass of his ally into him before his could bring his arms down.

Skull met skull.

The one I held in one hand was already weakened by bolts of Light, so it shattered against the swordsman’s face… and distingrated as I took gripped his head and squeezed to kill him and use him as a replacement shield against the torrent of fire.

My charge made it so that I couldn’t land a shot, but it was no longer necessary.

I had enough mass in my hand and enough velocity to close the gap before getting hit.

So, I holstered my weapon and drew out the clawhammer I had on my belt and continued my charge.

I reached the three Exorcists firing down the hall and threw the body of the swordsman at the two to the left, while swinging my hammer in a wide arc with my right hand.

My form was poor, I barely had a foundation as I brought crashed my feet into the floor to prevent overshooting, but that didn’t matter.

My arm’s strength was quadrupled and in my hand was five kilograms of steel.

It went through the Exorcist’s skull and lodged itself into the wall, making it so that I lost my weapon, but I picked up the Exorcist’s own gun and aimed it at his comrades.

I fired at the two while they were still scrambling to bring up their guns after getting hit with their friend’s charred, blasted-apart corpse.

They managed to get a shot or two off each, but the shots that hit only grazed my shoulder and my left side instead of striking me squarely, while the others flew wide.

I allowed myself to take a breath after dispatching the latest squad… before I heard another set of footsteps heading my way.

This time… I wasn’t letting them dig in, so I decided to expend some of my reserves of magic with a simple magical circle meant to harmlessly practice water magic, but one with incredible tactical applications for someone with enhanced senses.

Fog creation.

The halls of death and blood rapidly filled with a thick fog from my hand, while I wrenched my hammer out of the wall and made sure that its balance was good.

I could barely see, but I could hear the heartbeat of my enemies and smell their rising fear.

End them, Taylor. Now. Let them retain some dignity instead of breaking!

Once again, I charged forward… this time I didn’t know if the predator’s roar I was hearing was within my head or leaving my throat.

But that didn’t matter.

All that mattered was the fight between me and my objective.

A fight that I had no intention of losing.

…

It was decided that it would be best to summon Devils right into the facility, after the protections on the place were broken.

While Quarta and Irina both couldn’t do it, I was more than capable of using the contract system to my advantage.

After I finished destroying all sources of magic that Ddraig could point out, I took out the business cards and pamphlets that the Devils used to offer their services, and poured a little bit of my power into them.

A purple light bathed the room as numerous summoning circles came alive… and I allowed myself to take a seat while those set to assault the facility, not involved in the perimeter patrols, arrived.

Himejima arrived first with Sitri’s Queen… and both their eyes widened at the sight of the room.

“Sorry for the mess.” I reached over to my pouch after catching my breath and started patching myself up. Most of the wounds I suffered were grazes and cauterized the wounds they left. However, my movements stretched the burned areas and broke them apart. Some of my protection sloughed and melted into my skin too. All of it was skin deep and more irritating than anything else. Nothing that needed the painkillers I had. “They fought harder than I thought.”

A few of Sitri’s more capable frontline fighters arrived, but they were former humans… and the carnage unsettled them a lot.

Saji puked.

I couldn’t blame him.

My hammer was a bloody, terrible mess after everything that I did and it left behind broken, shattered corpses in its wake. The scent of the room was pungent with spilled guts and blood and burnt pork. The floor was covered in the aftermath of battle between marginally-stronger human bodies and a Longinus-user wielding a modern battle hammer.

It wasn’t something any one of Sitri’s Devils could take, given their modern sensibilities.

Akeno, however, took it in for a second before approaching me and getting on a knee to look at my wounds. A soothing light came upon her hands and I found my wounds healing… as she was flanked by Kiba and Koneko.

They both looked at the room with frowns on their face, but both also looked at me and my wounds.

The frustration on their features and how they glanced at the room for Irina and Quarta gave me a glimpse into their thoughts… and made me stand up.

“They went to rescue the children as fast as possible. We need to move now.” Akeno was surprised by my words, but a small smile crossed her face as she primly stood up. Sitri’s Queen looked at me with some surprise, but redoubled her efforts to get her own strike team in order. “I went alone to make sure they’d be reinforced, but that was ten minutes ago. We need to go now.”

“Ufufu, if that’s the case, then we shouldn’t tarry. Who knows how difficult things are without you at their side, Ise-kun.” Akeno suddenly took to my side and took my arm. My mind briefly went blank at her very feminine touch, with chest pressing against me, but I soon realized that she was supporting me out of concern. “Let’s go now, hm?”

It was a struggle to batter down my body’s stupid libido, but I managed it after taking in the state of the room that I’d fought in and the knowledge that I still had another fight ahead.

“Yeah. Let’s.”

It wasn’t time to let hormones get in the way.

It was time to fight and to win.

I couldn’t have said it better myself, Taylor!