C-Rank Ranked Match — The Final Battle

I have to get off this hill right now. But the mountainside has gone up in flames, curling into a ring all around me.

Even with a Space Girl’s body, charging straight into the fire is… probably a bad idea.

I fire up my comm.

“ChaCha, do I take damage if I touch the flames?”

“You do. Touch fire for a second and it knocks about 10 off your durability. Worst case, you’ll even come down with a status ailment (bug).”

Forcing my way through isn’t the smart play.

“Understood.”

Better to go around.

Snap decision. I slide down the hill and duck into the forest.

From up top, this straight line looked thin on trees. If I can just deal with the one burning tree dead ahead, there’s nothing between me and the lake from there on.

I hurl a grenade at the roots of the blazing trees ahead of me. The explosion knocks them aside, flames and all. A wall of fire maybe two meters high still stands in the way, but that much I can clear with my Thrusters.

“…Thruster!”

I ride my Thrusters over the flames and run for the lake.

Straight ahead the way is clear, not a flame or a tree in it, but to either side the forest is a raging inferno, the tall trees ablaze. I have to hurry.

“?!”

— Boom!

A cannon blast rings out. The round Tsubasa loosed shatters the trunks of the trees to either side of me.

“Damn it…!”

The burning trees on both sides come toppling down toward me.

She left this escape route open on purpose. To lure me in here, then knock the trees on both sides down with her Aegis’s cannon fire and bury me under them!

Both rows of trees — gone. This is bad. What do I do.

Shoot them all down— no good, there’s too many.

Block them— my Shield Pieces are already gone.

Intercepting all of them is impossible! So I clear out only as many as I have to! I don’t stop running. Stop to smash the trees raining down on me, and I’ll just get ringed in by the flames and burned alive. First, I lock in my route from here to the lake. Then I pinpoint the trees blocking that route! After that, I throw everything I’ve got into clearing out the ones in my way!

I launch my Bullet Pieces. Assault rifle in my right hand, sniper rifle in my left.

“Full Burst!!”

Running all the while, I gun down the falling trees one after another. The Bullet Pieces recharge and relaunch the instant they can; the assault rifle and sniper rifle keep firing for as long as their energy holds.

Burning splinters slam into my shoulder, into my head. My armor chars, my durability chipping away bit by bit, but I’ve no time to care.

“Rrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh—!!!!”

100 meters left… 70… 50…

20 meters to go!!

And then, right across my path, more burning trees come crashing down and seal it off.

“One-Off Saber!!!”

I bring out my saber and kick it into High-Output Mode, then carve a path clean through the wall of flame with a single stroke at full destructive power.

Assault rifle, EN depleted. Two Bullet Pieces lost. Saber, EN depleted. Shield Pieces, all gone.

Armaments remaining: rifle, M1911, four Bullet Pieces, Dust Mirage. Nearly half of them are out of commission, but at last… I’ve made it.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Tsubasa.”

“Now then — shall we play, Shiki?”

Tsubasa has four shields, around forty Shield Pieces, no other armaments. And no right arm, either.

Thirty meters between us. A lake at my feet, dusk overhead, blazing forest on every side. Not a scrap of cover.

Forty seconds until the assault rifle finishes charging. I hold out through these forty seconds.

I move.

Three shields bear down on me. I slip their charge and line up a sniper shot on Tsubasa, but the Aegis at her hand knocks the round aside, and from that same Aegis a cannon blast comes roaring back. Slow rounds, but they hit hard. I fire my Thrusters and dodge the shot, trying to press in closer, only for the Aegis to cut off my path.

The M1911!

The instant I draw my M1911, Tsubasa pulls her shields back from me. When I fire, both the shields and Tsubasa throw everything into dodging the live rounds.

Yeah — even at this range, live rounds get dodged with room to spare. No way they land.

I fire three more shots, but every one is dodged.

Still, it keeps her honest.

I reload the M1911 once, topping the ammo count back up to max.

Assault rifle — released.

I go on the offensive with the freshly charged assault rifle. Tsubasa deflects its fire with her Aegis.

Bullet Pieces!!

I put an angle on the Bullet Pieces and fire, but her Shield Pieces stop them cold.

“Ngh—! So tough!!”

Bullet Pieces and Tsubasa’s Aegis go flying back and forth, a give-and-take standoff that drags on and on. Two of my Bullet Pieces are destroyed, but at that same moment one of her Aegis shatters too.

Tsubasa sends two Aegis charging at me. I drop low, slide, and slip in under them.

There’s a hitch in the Aegis’s teamwork now! I can do this!!

I charge in, assault rifle gripped tight. Two of the three Aegis are behind me now. If I can just break past the last one…!

“Hey, Shiki — you’re not the only one with an ace up your sleeve.”

My eyes fly open despite myself.

Tsubasa materializes a lone submachine gun and mounts it on her left hand.

Weapon Plus… she expanded her armament slots and dropped a submachine gun into them?!

Tsubasa lets the submachine gun rip.

Her Shooting level is low. I can just barely dodge!!

I accelerate sideways to dodge the submachine gun fire, but the rounds I just slipped ricochet off the Aegis that had been sitting behind me.

A ricochet off the Aegis?!

The rebounding rounds destroy my left arm and my assault rifle.

A system voice echoes in my head. The final area shrink is starting. In one more minute, the safe zone will vanish.