Chapter 168. Intercept
The pitch-black ruins of the city are eerie. No lights can be seen in the northern ruins. The base where survivors had been living sparsely before has been taken over by the Tenshugahara Corporation, so the residents have moved to the plains or Tenshugahara Market.
Thus, a limousine drives through the darkness. Half-collapsed ruins buildings and decayed ruins with gaping holes in the roofs and no doors at the entrances. Walls that were once probably glass-covered at places like restaurants have turned into mere holes, overgrown with vegetation, now shrouded in green, eerie former storefronts whose original purposes are indistinguishable.
The asphalt pavement is cracked with grass and weeds growing, and abandoned cars are reduced to rusty chassis blocking the way.
In the midst of it all, a brand-new limousine with its headlights on drives surreal and eerie through the darkness.
A limousine speeding through the dangerous darkness. While the lights illuminate the front, Sakimori uses magic.
[Night Vision]
Of course, Sakimori, Karin, and Serika have cast magic to see their surroundings as clearly as day even in the night darkness.
Thanks to the magic, the surroundings appear as bright as daytime, the darkness disappears, and visibility returns to normal.
"Thank you. So, Sakimori can use this kind of magic too."
"Well, dark magic primarily operates in darkness. Without night vision, its effectiveness is halved. Nevertheless, it's my first time using this magic too."
Karin admires me and thanks me, but indeed, auxiliary magic might not be used much. There's instant status enhancement in combat. Besides, I don't remember much support magic.
"Unlike the old night vision goggles, there are no weaknesses like being blinded by flashes, sudden lights, or inability to see without some light with the 'Night Vision' magic. It's a good magic."
"Yeah, there were such weaknesses. There were stories in movies where enemies were defeated by exploiting those weaknesses."
As Serika speaks, I recall hearing about such weaknesses from her. But it seems there are no issues with the [Night Vision] magic. It's truly an advanced magic.
Serika takes something out from her chest. Since she's glancing at me sneakily, I lean closer to take a look, but she blushes crimson, retreats, and leans back against the chair.
"Can't you be embarrassed there? Why do you keep trying to see more?"
"Because you were trying to put it in your chest after hiding it in the seat drawer."
I'm an adult here. How many times do I have to say it? Sheesh, Serika is so naive. Karin murmurs pitifully. Indeed, Serika doesn't seem to have much learning ability in this regard. Shizuku is touching her own chest with a sad expression, so I pretend not to notice.
"Geez, what a cruel husband. I'm not satisfied, but here we go. Ta-da! Colorful glasses!"
With a proud expression, Serika takes out sunglasses and speaks in a drawn-out manner. I wonder if there's any significance to it, but I notice the mana in the sunglasses for now.
"What's that?"
"These aren't just ordinary sunglasses. They mechanically and magically analyze the hidden enemies' forms and predict their substance, then display them on the glasses."
"Huh? Like making montages based on imagination?"
"Yeah, there's a chance you might miss the enemies' exact appearance or concealed weapons, but I think it's still useful. It'll cost you 100 million yen."
As I think she's charging money, I snatch the sunglasses from Serika, who is waving them in her hand.
"I'll take them on rent."
"Well, alright, just this once for rental."
"I'll pay 100 million yen."
That seems more expensive, so I'll give up. Later, I'll find a way to deal with it somehow.
Wearing the sunglasses, I look through the windshield at the sky, and the vague shape of a mana cluster, a helicopter, becomes clear.
"It's a combat helicopter. One is in front of us. Two are in the sky above it. There's only one behind. Are we being sandwiched?"
Slim combat helicopters with machine guns and missile launchers fly through the air. I click my tongue as I realize the same about the rear.
"That's strange. The one in the rear is a Type 26 combat helicopter. It's the latest model. However, the one in front is Type 22, an old model. Can this happen?"
Serika peers into the rear and reports with a puzzled look. Seriously?
"Could it be a double booking? I don't recall promising that many."
"I have the same thought. It seems like we have a lot of waiting fans."
Serika chuckles as if finding it amusing. I shrug my shoulders satisfactorily at the hard-boiled exchange.
[Serika-chan is so unfair. I want to say something clever too. I'm thinking, so please wait a bit.]
While responding with understanding to my competitive partner, I squint and become serious. Shizuku shows too much competitiveness. That's cute too, though.
"Which family do you think the one in front belongs to?"
"If it's an old model, I don't know. It could belong to any family."
Serika hands me the sunglasses, and Karin can also see the helicopter's shape but makes a troubled expression.
"I guess the latest model is from the Ashikaga."
"Yeah, it must be. The Type 26 was just deployed."
"Got it. Then let's ask a few questions to the pilot in front."
Grinning, I start devising a plan. I want that helicopter. Can Serika even fly it?
As I ponder what to do,
"They're coming!"
With a sharp voice, Serika urges caution. Almost simultaneously, the sound of machine gun fire reverberates from behind.
"Meow~!"
Karin glances at the rearview mirror, vigorously swerving the steering wheel left and right as the limousine begins to weave.
As the limousine rides over debris with a clunk, bullets from the machine gun impact around it. Truly, machine guns were punching fist-sized holes in the road one after another.
"Meow~!"
Karin turns the wheel sharply, veering the limousine around a corner. The screech of tires against the road is audible.
Quickly flooring the accelerator, Karin accelerates the limousine.
"Are they hitting us~?"
Amidst the car's turbulent movement like a blender, I sigh and unfasten my seatbelt.
"It's all hitting the trajectory, Karin. Stop these unnecessary moves."
The shadow serpent attached to the vehicle has been deflecting the trajectory of the bullets since earlier.
"...Is that so? In movies, they managed to dodge machine gun fire like this."
"In reality, at around 80 km/h, it's impossible to dodge a machine gun strafing. That's just in movies."
As I slump my shoulders disappointedly, Albino's beauty pierces through the dejection. Indeed, as Serika said, dodging machine gun strafes with weaving movements is impossible. Reality is harsh.
Deciding to drive straight, Karin stabilizes the vehicle, and I look up at the sky.
It seems the concealment gets lifted, as the Type 26 combat helicopter appears and begins to pursue. They're not holding back anymore.
However, the other three combat helicopters aren't joining the attack.
"They're trying to take advantage. They probably don't think there's another helicopter hiding."
"Isn't it too much of a leak in your schedule, Sakimori? Any ideas?"
"Yeah... I didn't hide anything, so maybe some guy showing off at a bar, flirting with a woman and bragging about it openly."
Surely, he'd be bragging and talking big. Concentrating on my mana while finding it amusing, I open the limousine window and lean out. Just as I do, the enemy helicopter fires missiles.
[Active Icicle Wall]
With a sound like sucking out air, the missiles approach, but the ice barrier I create appears in their trajectory. The missiles collide with the wall, exploding, and shattered ice fragments glitter in the air.
[Shadow Strings]
As smoke billows, obstructing the view, and the helicopter, disliking it, ascends rapidly, I unleash shadow threads towards it.
[Dark Move]
Using teleportation magic, I return to the car. It's a new magic that allows me to freely teleport up to about 5 km as long as I'm familiar with the location.
"I thought it would be shot down."
"I wouldn't do something like that. It's a waste. I sent a new pilot to the helicopter."
I swing my hand at Serika's surprising words, inclining towards an implicit laugh. There's no way I'd shoot down a new model helicopter.
The pilot of the Type 26 combat helicopter was unable to hide his frustration. The main pilot of the tandem-seat combat helicopter had been dodging machine gun attacks and even had his missiles blocked, surprising him.
"Tch, whether it's a skill or something, he's causing trouble even though there's no way to match a helicopter. Just die already."
Tilting the lever and moving the limousine back above, I secure the position.
"Hey, hit them this time, alright? Fire all missiles with full force. Otherwise, it seems they'll get blocked."
I address my partner sitting in the rear, responsible for firepower, raising my voice. There's not much time to spare. Even if I ask the military to turn a blind eye to the radar, there's a limit. Especially now that the power of Ashikaga is waning.
"I need a manual. Is this the Fire Control System?"
However, instead of the voice of the man I expected, a cute girl's voice comes, causing me to stiffen.
Surprised by the sound of a girl's voice, I turn around and, to my disbelief, see a girl in a changed form of traditional Japanese clothing and another girl wearing the unattractive Type 26 combat suit clinging to the rear seat.
"Oh, was driving in the front?"
Asked in a casual tone the girl in the combat suit, the pilot, who had been doubting the reality and had noticed that the neck of his comrade sitting in the rear seat had turned 180 degrees, stiffened.
"H-How did you...?"
Despite being flustered by the fact that they're enemies, he tries to take out his gun, but
"Hey there."
With a swift gust of wind, a kick lands on his face, and the neck of the pilot rotates, stopping his breath.
"Nice job. I've already received Serika-chan's explanation through telepathy. There's no problem with operation."
"It's enviable how quickly you can apply knowledge skills for combat. Then, Snow, you're in charge of the Fire Control."
Annoyed, they open the canopy, discard the trash, and sit in the chairs.
"It's been a while since I've fought in a helicopter. Are we good to go?"
"Please handle the corrections. Other than that, leave it to Snow, the genius."
As Snow tightens her belt and takes the lever, Shizuku asks with a dependable answer, chuckling. After checking the instruments to ensure everything's okay, I shift my gaze to the remaining helicopter.
"I don't have sunglasses, but if I hit them, they'll appear, right?"
"Indeed. But it's 3 against 1. Can we win?"
"Furthermore, I want this helicopter intact. Sakimori-san desires airpower, and as a good wife, I want to fulfill his wish."
Answering like so, she twists her mouth into a sneer. With a fierce light shining in her eyes like a ferocious beast, she murmurs.
"It's been a while since aerial combat. I hope we dance well. The tempo is fast, and let's make the applause the enemies' dying screams."
As I raise the lever to increase altitude and rotate the helicopter towards the hiding enemy, Shizuku looks forward to how strong the enemy will be.
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