Artist's commentary
Karindou 4 Koma Extra Story Pseudo Short Story [Ghostrick Live] 12
"...Hmph. Your killing intent is comfortable. So much so that I unintentionally matched it. Even for me, for a moment, I felt like I was going to pull the trigger."
"Are you saying that you can kill me whenever you want?"
Col's vision ran red with anger, as her finger pressed on the trigger. Just a little more, just a few more grams of strength, and a bullet would fly out.
"Don't lose your temper, if you pull the trigger, I would have have to do so as well. I don't have a suppressor, so if I shoot, the sound of the gunfire will reach up there. And if that happens, the patrols will notice, and come rushing here. I would not want that to happen."
"W... What are you saying..."
Pink-chan thought they were completely surrounded, and she frowned at Giganov's words. Certainly, the time for only a few words had passed since they met, but she couldn't sense the patrols at all. On the contrary, if they were intentionally hiding their presence here, then this wouldn't make an sense.
"So this situation is... Ah, could it be you're looking for some "thanks"? I see, you want a cute, sexy, lewd type of girl. It can't be helped. But, since you're the cause of it, as a punishment, there won't be anything actually done. But I'll strip for you, so feel free to use me as you pleasure yourself, mister."
"I don't have any intention of being intimate with you. I hate these kinds of crude jokes. Grizzly was a superb teacher for you, but your subordinates have no discipline, Bullet Squall."
"Tch... I don't want to hear that from a pretentious criminal, you fucking bearded ball!"
Ignoring the sarcasm laced with provocation, he disappointedly stared at her. But in his mind, he grinded his teeth. Even on the battlefield, the endless banter that is used to annoy your enemy and disrupt their pace and concentration is a skill you naturally learn. So that didn't work at all against him.
(He seems pretty serious, and it's strange that my arousing pheremones didn't work... I figured I'd give it a try, but in this situation, Mifi-chan and Cuey-chan would get caught in it... Even if I try to use charm, I can't remove Onee-sama from my sight... Even if I could get to him and slash him while he's focused on Onee-sama, he has a gun, and the reaction speed to defend against bullets, so I'm at a disadvantage, being a knife specialist... Damn, that's why natural gun users are...!)
They say that in melee combat, there's nothing better than a knife, but in reality, in knife range, a hand gun is also effective. Even more so if it's a powerful one. Moving, tracking and reaction speed are all required to shoot at point blank, so it's not as easy as it sounds. For someone like those two, they might be focused on something else, but that doesn't mean they wouldn't easily notice the attack, and there were no opening in the man.
"I don't think any of you want to make a disturbance. I won't say that you should trust me, but lower your gun, Bullet Squall."
"......"
"Onee-sama!?"
It was silent. After a brief moment, Col removed her finger from the trigger, and Giganov also responded by holstering his gun. Of course, they wanted to start shooting right away, but as a veteran mercenary, the calm part of her believed that this man wasn't lying. Although his warning wasn't done with any benevolence in mind, she knew that was some purpose behind it. She hadn't lost her rage, but it was strange. He was part of the horrible criminal organization that had kidnapped Ran, and was the one who killed Bear. But she couldn't feel any malice or evil from him, just a pure will to fight.
That is what she thought. As long as Ran was safe and in the grip of the enemy, she wanted to avoid any unnecessary combat. And from the start, she assumed that the biggest barrier would be fighting this man, and if she could settle it without causing a disturbance or having anyone find out about it, that would actually be convenient. So it wasn't bad for her to go along with his invitation.
"Yes, that's good. Time is of the essence right now. Hey, you pink one."
"What do you mean... hey, don't call me by my color, though I am!"
"The research that is using the little girl you came to save is on the last phase. Whether it succeeds for fails, once the experiment is finished, it will be difficult for her to hold on to either her existence or her sense of self. To get to the laboratory, you will need to go through the hidden door in the room further inside. However, there will be one other waiting for you. If you two dare to challenge him, he will welcome it, but if you go too quickly, you won't see him. There is only a little bit of time left before the experiment begins, so if you want to save the little girl, you have no time to lose, and no other options."
"Wh, what!? Are we supposed to believe you!?"
Giganov moved aside to let them go through, and Pink-chan became more confused and gave her honest response. Weren't they there to stop them from getting to Ran? She wondered if he was trying to defeat each of them separately, so they couldn't combine their power.
However, there was a part of her that didn't doubt him. Aiina said "the experimental data was being constantly updated in real time", and the experiment that Giganov talked about was on the final phase. It would be easy to dismiss that as a coincidence, but she felt a vague uneasiness at the fact that they matched.
Then she decided. Her doubt was only for a second.
"Onee-sama"
Her response was only a silent nod. In the next instant, Pink-chan slipped by Giganov.
(That guy really is letting us by... It doesn't feel good to be dancing in the palm of his hand though...!)
She put away the throwing knives she had been hiding in her hand. She was ready to throw them at his head, in case he made any sudden moves while she was passing by him.
"You two over there, you go too. The only one I have business with is Bullet Squall."
"Eh, uh..."
"It's ok, if he was planning to harm us, he would have done so when Pink-chan was passing him. He might do something if we're slow, so let's go."
Mifi moved first, urging the nervous Cuey to squeeze her giant body into the passage.
"Oh, you two too?"
"Ah, he wanted to duel the head chamberlain. He made it pretty clear that we'd be in the way. And we probably would be a hinderance, and that would be bad."
"I see... Well, Onee-sama won't lose so easily. If that man's speculation is right, and the little mistress is close by, then let's break on through!"
"Yes!"
And then, under Pink-chan's leadership, they ran further down the hallway. Behind them, Cuey was couldn't run, mostly in the narrow parts, which was sad for her, but now that the situation has changed, there's no time to be going slow.
(If this is a trap, then let them spring it! Onee-sama and I aren't weak maids. Rather than get caught by it, we'll destroy them!)
Her inner will to fight shone in her eyes.
Behind Pink-chan, Cuey followed, desperately trying to stay close, and noticed that Mifi was constantly looking back.
"Are you worried about the head chamberlain?"
"No, Pink-chan said it. The head chamberlain won't lose so easily. But..."
Saying that, Mifi's expression changed. It was the expression of trying to explain the unexplainable.
"That man, it was like his soul was talking at the same time, and I could hear his voice twice. Even though he has a soul, something was odd. Souls often mirror words they learn from humans, but it was just the number of words, and it was saying the exact same things at the same time. Is that even possible...?"
Cuey, who couldn't hear the voices of souls, didn't have an answer.
There was 34 minutes left until the experiment began.
"We should also change venues."
Col, confirming that the footsteps of the 3 of them were moving away, followed Giganov. Not through the doorway, but through a giant hole in a wall. She was worried about them, but Pink-chan should be able to manage. She had a personality that was overly frivolous in everything she did, but when things got serious, the more desperate she got, the more she wanted to mess around. But when that happens, her anger increases much more than her messing around, and that's how she managed to make it out alive and smiling from multiple life or death situations. So she had faith in her.
(Well then... I should start worrying about myself instead soon.)
Switching thoughts, she memorized the route as she turned her gaze towards her guide, Giganov. He had a wide figure, so he couldn't be a foot soldier, but if he was a monster, then she'd seen monsters much bigger than him who were unbelievably nimble. So she didn't have enough information to make a guess about his physical body. However, looking at his thick arms that could be used to hit her with, she imagined that hidden within the thick layer of fat around his torso, there was a lot of strong hard muscles. If she had to say, her impression of his body was that it was like a major league player. The way he was casually walking was such that he could suddenly break out into a run by shifting is center of gravity, which was proof of a seasoned soldier. In addition, his appearance would fool you into thinking he was slow, but she knew he was a skilled "warrior".
From his back, she could tell he was on guard against her, and he had no openings. Or rather, it was a guard telling her that she shouldn't try to attack.
"...Can I ask you this? Why did help us?"
Asking the question even though she didn't expect a response, he defied her expectations and answered.
"Don't misunderstand. I never planned on following them, or have any interest in supporting their ideas, reaping the benefits they are creating, or fulfilling their dream. They needed strength, and I wanted a battlefield. Our relationship is nothing more than us using each other. I only made contact with you secretly because I don't want anything to get in the way of our fight. To that end, they don't know anything about this. ...We're here."
Midway down the hallway, Giganov squeezed through a narrow hole in the middle of the wall. Even Col, who was smaller than him, almost had to crawl to make it through it. It was difficult to pass through it quickly. It was an entrance, but not an exit, meaning that there was no retreating.
(Does this mean that he won't allow any escape? He's chosen the place very carefully...)
Pulling her foot out from the hole, Col found a space that looked like an event hall waiting for her. Although there was an impressive chandelier lighting the place, there was no exquisite food laid out on tables, but just the usual ruined stone walls and floor plainly decorating it. The large shutter for the real entrance was partially open and completely buried in rubble, and there didn't seem to be any open space to go through. So that was not an escape path. Looking up, the ceiling was quite high, and on the 2nd floor, there were glass windows from which another room could be seen. That was probably a monitoring room to observe this room, but even if she could break the glass, jumping that high and aiming for that gap would be near impossible, so she wouldn't be able to use that to escape.
"Here, the sound of gunfire won't reach up there, and most of the waves will be absorbed the stone. We can fight here, without any unnecessary interruptions."
"Why do you like such a hidden room? I had to go through a narrow hole, and look, my apron is now all dirtied. It's a mark of pride for a maid to get it dirty doing work, but as a maid attached to my mistress, to have an unclean body would shame my mistress? Why did you bring me here?"
"...So you are saying that you are no longer a soldier, but fully a maid, Bullet Squall?"
"It's Col. Col TR BF. Since you've honored your part, I must tell you my full name, please don't think poorly of me. My alias is "Bullet Squall", I am a maid of the great Schtlehertz family, and am the head chamberlain."
"My name is Giganov. Giganov Priadkov Garganiko. I don't really have an alias, but I've heard that I'm known as the "anti-tank foot soldier". I am a mercenary from an age gone by who knows nothing but fighting."
Exchanging names, before he could prepare himself, Col rushed forward.
Before that.
"!!"
It was so fast. Pulling his gun out of the hostler, and aiming by reflex was a moment too slow, and Col slipped beneath his aim. Col, using the gun in her left hand, knocked aside his arm that was adjusting the sights.
Col fluidly ducked past him, and kicked in the back of Giganov's knee. Grabbing onto his arm and using it to spin his body, he floated in midair for a moment. Before he could escape from the hand holding his arm, her leg extended out from his shoulder and wrapped around his neck, and pulled him down by his back.
(...But...!)
Lying on the ground with her left arm aroudn his right shoulder, he gripped onto the string of the apron.
"Too naive with that hold!"
Pulling with all his strength, he unexpectedly easily pulled her hand from his arm. Col was tossed and Giganov was on the floor. Going on the defensive and putting distance between them, he quickly stood up. As they were both gun users, she defied expectations and made a surprise attack. If he hadn't been able to remove the hand gripping him, she would have broken his neck. Or if not that, she could have just bashed his head into the floor. And even if he could have escaped that, she could have broken his arm. In any case, he wouldn't have gotten away unhurt. If Col's grip had been a little stronger, he wouldn't have been to completely throw her off and his arm would have been done for.
"It's not CQC or CQB... Judo, no jujutsu? Where did you learn that?"
"The Satoichi maid combat art, that move was shadow style "setting sun". I learned as much as I could, and while I couldn't master everything, Japanese guard maids learn either the Satoichi or Sakki maid combat arts!"
As she was saying this, she crossed her arms, and emphatically said the last word and opened her hands wide, and turned up her skirt, and her stocking and garters were revealed. However, there wasn't time to appreciate her boldly revealed zettai ryouiki, for the shiny black dangerous weapons that she had gripped in both of her upraised hands were what drew his attention.
As she dove to the side, there was a loud sound. Giganov's bullet grazed the tip of the string of her apron, and caused a huge indentation in the wall behind her. Giganov ran like he was making a circle, and Col ran after him, firing the submachine guns in both of her hands, and chased after him.
"I see, you think that I can't defend against a constant stream of bullets!"
Giganov changed his movements, and broke the circle, and headed towards the wall.
(However, stopping that is simple!)
Kicking off the wall, fluttering in the large space, he turned around. Suddenly moving in the opposite direction, the bullets chasing him were too slow. In that interval, Giganov shot one heavy shot.
Col tried to twist her body to suddenly brake. In front of her, the large caliber bullet caused waves in the air, and messed up her bangs as they passed by, and she stopped her barrage.
(If spreading out points doesn't work, then next is a surface...!)
Forcefully twisting her body, she tossed the submachine gun in her left hand upward and faced forward. The new gun that appeared in her left hand had a wooden stock, and she fired. Unlike handgun bullets, it was low speed, but it traced out a loose trajectory through the air as it came after Giganov.
(A thumper!? She has such an old, single shot grenade launcher...!)
Kicking off the wall once again, when the shot came within arms reach, he hit the side of it with the back of his hand and knocked it upward.
The grenade round exploded in midair. Coming out of the explosion, Giganov curled up his body and rolled on the floor, forced his body up, stepped to the side and fired. Col, using the hem of her skirt as a decoy, jumped backwards to dodge, and released the grenade launcher, caught the submachine gun she had thrown earlier, and once she landed, she zigzagged and fired randomly. They were shots to try and hit Giganov no matter where he might move, regardless of where he was. While being targeted by a submachine gun, and even though she moving fast enough that it would be impossible for a normal person to hit her while using sights, he was able to easily match it. The frills on her left shoulders were torn apart, and the air and her sleeve and skin were shredded. But Col didn't stop.
Not waiting for the next shot, Col closed in, kicking his arm up before she could be shot. Her raised leg exposed what was hidden inside the skirt, and Giganov's vision turned white and flesh colored. However, feeling her killing intent, he bent his upper body, and dodged the submachine guns that were stick out from the shadow of her skirt as she kicked. Trying to bring her leg down and kick Giganov in the knee, the force from the kick sent her floating in the air, and Col's heel dug into his left arm that was protecting his throat. Immediately, a second kick was launched to the right side of the head.
"Gah!"
However, that yell of agony was Col's. Though she rotated her body as an evasive action as she launched her kick, it was a clean hit to Col's side. The kick was made with a leg that was as big as Col's waist, and it was with iron plated military boots. Flipping backwards, Col landed on the floor, and her head was filled with pain.
(Kuh... That one hit, a human would have had not only their ribs, but their organs smashed... Fortunately, I'm not a human.)
It hurt as much as being hit by an ogre, but fortunately, it didn't impede her movement. Thanking that her monster body was tougher than that of a human, Col pulled in something with all her strength into her left hand.
(That was a pretty harsh counter, but just because it's no holds barred doesn't mean it's a fight... My tactic will be to strike at his weakness!)
Getting up, Giganov sensed that something was closing on him. In his field of vision, he thought something was glimmering.
(...Now a piano wire trap!?)
Realizing what it was too late, the piano wire spread out on the floor rushed towards him, and was about to bind his entire body. Col, believing he was caught, felt it suddenly go slack. Giganov, who should have been tied up, had fervently pulled out a knife in response, and had barely cut the piano wire.
"With submachine guns, grenade launcher, jujutsu, you stubbornly aimed for my head, and finally an instant wire trap. You have some pretty dirty tricks prepared."
Moving away the limply hanging piano wire, Giganov stood up this time. Col, ignoring her side screaming out in pain, also stood up, and stared at him.
"...That's why you didn't tell me, right? Back then, if you wanted to, you could have killed me."
"That was part of a tactical action. The mission takes priority over my personal feelings. Anyway, if that happened, honestly you wouldn't be the one who got killed. If we had fought there, it just would have wasted time, and wasting time would have made evacuation difficult, and would have just been an unnecessarily high risk, right?"
"Yes, from a tactical standpoint, that's definitely true. ...That's why you didn't kill me."
"And now, just as I planned, you came here. To repay me as a mercenary."
"A mercenary whose allies are killed won't stay silent, and the one who killed them won't be allowed to escape... you mean? Honestly, after I retired from being a mercenary, I never thought I'd be doing this now. However, that's not the only reason why I responded to your provocation and answered your challenge."
"Oh?"
He closed his eyes for a moment. Reopening them, he saw in his line of sight his opponent burning with a pure and total anger.
"I can't stand someone like you, who acts like beating an old retired soldier is his specialty!!"
Col had returned to the rough way of speaking that she had when she used to be a mercenary, and her atmosphere completely changed. A killing intent that seemed to be drawn from her body pierced his skin, and he knew she was even more serious than before. Knowing that he had drawn out not Col, the ex-mercenary maid, but the mercenary "Bullet Squall", a smile from his love of combat came to Giganov's face.
As ones who had made it through the battlefield, their invisible, razor-sharp attacking wills clashed between them.
"You've finally revved up your engine, Bullet Squall!"
"Shut up you maggot, I'll make you wish you were dead, then get everything out of your rotten miso brain, and make you regret everything even after your dead!"
Kicking off the floor, they flew towards each other.
They fought hand to hand, foot to foot, and gun to gun. Frantically changing positions, distances being closed, striking through defenses, countering attacks, trying to trick by showing an opening, separating and firing. A combination of attacking and defending mixed in the the sound of exchanged gunfire. It was just like a whirlwind. Guess, feint, dodge, attack, defend, using all of their senses to their maximum limit, noticing their opponent's subtle actions, sensing an attack coming from a blind spot, reading the next target, imposing their will. If they showed even the slightest of hesitation, they would be destroyed. Their strategy could not allow a moment of indecision.
The walls were blown up, shell casings were bouncing on the smashed floor. But that's not all. From inside the whirlwind, Col's spent guns were also flying out one after another. A submachine gun, then a shotgun, then an assault rifle. The many different types and styles of guns of Col's collection, once they had emptied their clip, came flying out. Although Col fired all these at him, the number of Giganov's shots wasn't even in double digits yet. Though none of the were direct hits yet, the bullets grazed them and left burn marks and tears in their maid outfit and fatigues. However, the only one who had blood on them was Col. The bullets shot from the very high caliber handgun were rifled, and the torque from the spinning motion caused the air to move, which caused an effect similar to an impact to its surroundings. Though Col hadn't gotten hit, it still cut her skin. It couldn't be explained just from the gunpowder. She knew that a cartridge of a handgun could only have so much gunpowder inside of it, and this shouldn't happen with that size bullet from a handgun, and if this were to be replicated normally, the barrel wouldn't be able to withstand it. In the first place, if it really was the source of that stupidly high destructive power, then it would have been scientifically discovered a long time ago, and the history of guns would be different. So of course, he must use some kind of "power", but Col had no idea what it might be.
The only thing that was clear was that due to Giganov's technique, he would secretly discard a magazine from his high caliber gun, then do a feint like he was going to strike with the grip, and replace the magazine, and there were 5 shots per magazine. But how would that information be useful here? Even if he had prepared a lot, he would eventually run out of ammo, but she wasn't willing to wait that long. Col just wanted the chance to fill the guy in front of her with lead.
As Col quickened her attacks even more, Giganov's own excitement increased. If he relaxed at all, his entire body would be filled with holes. The unending rain of bullets poured on with the force of a storm. It truly was a bullet squall. The strength and skill, in his eyes, was pretty low, but the tactical skill and aim was first class. It was easy to determine the trajectory of the simple firing of his opponent, but if this was a battlefield, not to mention if he was drawn into hand to hand combat where he couldn't just rely on his gun, depending on the situation, he might get hit, and that alone made her a formidable opponent. He was completely satisfied with his opponent, and his soul quivered at his rival in front of him.
That joy was put into the bullets he fired, and in Giganov's stead, his gun roared.