However, she had no time to respond.
Not because of the young man she looked up to as a brother—
but because of what was right in front of her.
The ground at the intersection was cracked as if after a major earthquake, and the traffic lights had been knocked down.
“Ugh… guh…”
“Ah…”
Around her, Exia members lay groaning in pain.
And there,
“Hahahahahaha! You winged bugs are as weak as ever!”
Standing at the center of the destruction was the large man known as ‘Iron Demon’ Gouki, laughing ferociously.
His predatory eyes turned towards Hinata, who was at a loss for words at the scene before her.
“—So, what will you do? You rookie from before.”
“What will I do, you ask…”
[Soehi, if you’ve encountered the suspected ringleader, ‘Iron Demon’ Gouki, withdraw immediately—]
Click—Hinata silently cut off the communication.
Then, she gently touched the pink brooch on her chest.
“[Equipment Ready]”
The moment her voice was picked up,
Hinata’s entire body, along with the brooch, began to glow.
“Oh? What kind of toy is that?”
“Apparently, it’s something the research department rushed to complete for this festival period. So that off-duty Exia can respond quickly to attacks.”
As the light faded, there stood Hinata in her uniform, a pure white coat fluttering behind her.
Fully equipped with iron gauntlets and greaves.
What used to be a pleated skirt had recently changed to match her partner’s short pants for some reason.
The brooch on her chest had transformed into an emblem featuring wings and scales.
“You asked what I would do. —Of course, I’ll be your opponent.”
Hinata quietly assumed her stance, while ‘Iron Demon’ grinned.
Retreat, or rather, escape, was not an option for her.
—Even if the chances of victory were slim, she knew the heroes she admired would face the challenge head-on.
Meanwhile, at that time.
(No way, no way, no way! I’m running! I’ll die even if I run!)
Ibuki was fleeing at full speed.
Taking advantage of his excellent dynamic vision, he weaved through the crowd.
From above, a cold voice called out:
“—Stop right there.”
“Who in their right mind would stop when they’ll be killed if they do?!”
“I won’t kill you.”
“That’s not convincing at all!”
In reality, Ibuki wasn’t being killed precisely because he was in the crowd.
Rui, being an Exia member, couldn’t attack for fear of hurting bystanders and was limited to just chasing him.
However, if he stopped running, he’d be caught immediately.
There was no way a harmless [evil organization member] like him could win against a Libra member trained in martial arts.
But this stalemate couldn’t last long.
“Hey, look, one of the Exia is chasing someone.”
“Huh, what, a criminal?”
“Hmm, it looked like a man.”
“Wait, isn’t that angel… Lady Rui Utsurugi!?”
“Lady Rui… she’s so beautiful…”
Of course.
If a champion of justice is chasing someone, they must be a villain.
Moreover, the pursuer was none other than Rui, who attracted attention just by being there.
The longer he ran, the more attention he drew.
On top of that, people were starting to clear a path to avoid getting caught up in the chase.
(This is bad. If I keep running like this, I’ll just get caught eventually…)
As his anxiety grew, something happened.
As the crowd parted, the path ahead cleared.
And Ibuki’s extraordinary eyesight clearly caught sight of something tiny in the distance.
“——”
Far down the main street.
At the intersection, he saw a familiar small girl confronting a huge villain.
“What…!?”
(Why is ‘Iron Demon’ Gouki here!? No, more importantly, is Hinata alone!? …There’s no way. She can’t win…!)
Even though that man’s strength was well-known.
She should know that better than anyone after the previous attack.
—And yet, you’re still going to fight, aren’t you?
He glanced up at Rui gliding through the air.
It seemed that even she couldn’t spot Hinata, who was about a kilometer ahead.
(Right now, Rui is chasing me. So, if I keep leading her on and bring her there…)
While Hinata had to fight one-on-one in the shopping mall before, if she and Rui could work together this time, they might stand a chance.
At least there would be hope.
In that case, he had to cling to that hope.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.PAGES.DEV
—After all, for a mere bystander like him, this was the least he could do…
As if slipping into the gaps of his thoughts, the sound of a sword being drawn reached his ears.
Perhaps because the crowd had cleared and his escape route had become a straight line.
Over his shoulder, he saw Rui draw her sword.
Although she had drawn only one sword, it was poised to pierce Ibuki from behind.
“…Damn it!”
It was impossible to keep running straight like this.
Even though he knew this was Rui’s aim, Ibuki had no choice but to dive into a less crowded street.
And so he made his decision.
Somehow, while evading her attacks, he would lead Rui to where Hinata was.
(It’s okay. I escaped from Hinata too. I managed to dodge Rui’s attacks in the previous battle. I can do this…!)
And then, the moment the two of them stepped into the back alley—
“An emergency transmission…?”
Rui put a hand to her ear, looking suspicious.
As she followed Ibuki, her expression grew more severe.
“Yes, understood. —There’s one right in front of me as well.”
“……?”
With that, Rui finished her communication.
As Ibuki looked at her, trying to understand what was happening, Rui’s cold gaze pierced through him.
“I won’t kill you. But you’re going to need to settle down.”
“───!”
In an instant, without any hesitation, the one-winged angel drew his sword.
Four azure-silver blades danced through the air.
──What followed didn’t last long.
Running, running, running to barely dodge the approaching longsword.
Sometimes feinting, sometimes changing direction, but unlike Hinata, Rui moved freely through the air, making it useless.
Unable to gain distance, the attacks became increasingly fierce.
Even if he could see them, his body couldn’t move at the same speed.
Unable to dodge as he wished, his body quickly became covered in cuts. And then, finally—
“Gah… ugh!”
The pommel struck his back, and Ibuki crashed into the wall.
──Last time, he thought he could escape from Rui again.
But that was only because Rui had been focusing on deflecting his attacks.
Even then, Ibuki had been on the brink of capture.
Escape, lead, evade all the slashes.
How could he possibly manage such a feat?
To put it simply──he had been overconfident.
With his head hitting the wall and consciousness fading, regret filled his mind.
The hunter remained floating, staring at his prey.
Without any hint of carelessness, she began to speak.
“Last time, I couldn’t lay a hand on you because Hina was there. But now, it’s different.”
A whistling sound cut through the air.
Focusing his blurred vision, a long azure-silver sword was pointed right at his face.
“──Now, you’re going to tell me everything about you and your group.”
Cold eyes bore into him.
“First, what’s the purpose of this attack?”
“A-attack…?”
Ibuki couldn’t understand the meaning of Rui’s words.
“Yes. The attack happening all over the city right now. The attackers are numerous members of the Nega Messiah, and they’re all men.”
──Is that really happening…?!
Shock and anxiety gnawed at his heart.
The main culprit was likely the one he saw earlier, the “Gouki”.
The problem for Ibuki was that Gouki was the leader of the male members.
“I have nothing to do with it.”
Even as he said it, he knew it lacked credibility.
He was a man, just like the attackers.
Moreover, he had shown a bad attitude towards Rui in the shopping mall.
Even without that, Rui harbored animosity towards Ibuki, seeing him as someone trying to deceive her beloved Hina.
As expected, Rui coldly dismissed him.
“Do you think I can believe that?”
“I’m a subordinate of Setsuna, not Gouki.”
“But you said before that you came in response to a recruitment, with a smile on your face.”
“………!”
Ibuki bit his lip.
His previous attempt to buy time had completely backfired.
“Do you understand your position now? Then──”
Rui quietly looked down at Ibuki.
Her sapphire eyes held a hint of confusion.
“…What?”
“Over there.”
The young man leaning against the wall pointed behind himself.
“Over there, Hinata-chan is fighting Gouki…! So, hurry…!”
Desperately, as if clinging to a god, he looked up at the angel.
His plea,
“Are you──still trying to mock me?”
Was mercilessly cut down in one stroke.
“There’s no way I’d fall for such a childish trick.”
It was expected.
But he had no choice but to cling to that hope.
And now, his last hope was crushed before his eyes.
(Damn it…!)
“Fine. Answer me one more thing.”
To the hanging man, the one-winged angel spoke in a colder voice than before.
“──What is your goal?”
Why was she asking such a thing now?
As he looked back at her dubiously, she began to speak slowly.
“You hid your true identity to approach Hina, trying to use her for something. In the process, I found out your true identity. Normally, you’d try to eliminate me. But you helped me at the shopping mall, at a perfect opportunity.”
The perfect opportunity she referred to was when Ibuki had severed the knife aimed at her back.
But there was no gratitude in her words.
“And you only deceived Hina. It’s like you don’t want to lose any piece of the current situation. What are you trying to gain from Hina by going to such lengths?”
Her piercing gaze remained as cold as ever.
She wanted to know the true motive behind his seemingly benevolent actions, assuming he was an enemy.
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