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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Raid (3)
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"Damn it, why are there so many?!"
"Amelia! Are you okay?!"
"Worry about protecting Senior instead of me!"
"S-Siwoo! Watch out!"
"!"
While I was momentarily distracted, worrying about Amelia, a villain silently approached from behind and swung his sword. My Senior, who had injured his leg protecting Amelia during an earlier surprise attack, warned me, but by the time I heard the sound, it was too late to react.
It was a perfectly executed ambush. If it hadn't been me.
If you know before you hear the sound, you have plenty of time to react.
"H-how?!"
"That kind of thing doesn't work on me."
Unfortunately, ambushes don't work on me. The villain, unaware of this fact, dove behind my back and attacked with all his might, believing I wouldn't be able to dodge.
If the ambush had succeeded, it would have been a powerful blow.
But the moment an ambush fails, it becomes a dangerous blow, leaving the attacker wide open.
Naturally, I didn't miss the moment the villain stumbled, and I delivered a blow using centrifugal force.
Like when I subdued the Chameleon Beastman, I put my weight into a kick.
...But softer than that time. It was enough.
Perhaps it was thanks to that experience.
It felt like I'd figured out how much force it takes to knock out a superhuman without causing serious injury.
"Ugh...?!"
The guy's eyes rolled back in pain as he collapsed onto the ground.
His life wouldn't be in danger. Even if he had internal injuries, he'd probably recover with a few months of treatment.
There was no need to worry about that. In a situation where we could die at any moment, a few months of recovery was getting off cheap.
"Hoo, hoo... How many are there?"
"I don't know. I think I've taken down about five."
"Ha, only five? I've got seven, including the one I just caught."
"Yeah, yeah."
Her personality doesn't seem to break, even in this situation. How shocking was it back then, anyway? She's so confident even now.
"...By the way, where has Artemis disappeared to again?"
"I don't know. That's what I'm worried about too."
Of course, I wasn't worried *about* Artemis. Artemis seemed more likely to *cause* trouble than to *be* in trouble. What I was worried about was exactly *what kind* of trouble she might have caused.
"It's suspicious. Such a thing happens not long after she disappears?"
"...Yes, I agree."
"There's definitely something going on."
It had been several hours since Artemis said she was going to the restroom during the party and disappeared. And coincidentally, villains attacked at a time when she wasn't around? In such a remote area?
The situation fit too perfectly.
"F-fuck...! H-how are we supposed to beat these bastards...?!"
"W-we have to run. There's no way we can win!"
They'd lost their will to fight. They'd charged in a mob, but perhaps they despaired at the thought of being the only ones left.
Seeing them slowly try to back away, Amelia gripped her spear and asked,
"What do you want to do?"
"Wouldn't it be okay to let them go? We have too much to do."
"Alright. ...Hey, get lost. We have no business with you."
A considerable amount of time had passed since the fighting began. Even without thinking about Artemis, there was too much to do.
First, report to the Association and the police.
These guys, they're Übermensch. It was clear because they each had different animal body parts. Something like paw pads, unknown bird wings, sharp claws, etc. The guy who ambushed me earlier also had strange paw pads attached to his feet. No wonder I couldn't hear his footsteps.
It was a similar symptom to Lyra's. Because there was something about them that reminded me of animals.
...What on earth is it?
To find that out, the Association needed to arrive as quickly as possible.
And that wasn't all. We had to restrain the guys we'd taken down first, and call an ambulance to treat Senior.
There was no time to capture the guys who had lost their will to fight. I was worried about them harming civilians, but mentioning it when I reported would be enough.
Having decided that, we chose to let them go.
Until they started exhibiting strange behavior.
"Guh, ugh...?!"
"Yoo Siwoo. ...Something's off."
"Yeah. I felt it too."
A strange unease washed over me. Just moments ago, these guys were desperate to escape. And when they saw we weren't planning to capture them, their faces brightened, and they immediately tried to run.
...But now, their faces looked strange.
"Something's wrong."
Immediately after that remark, Amelia accelerated in an instant. Just as I preferred close combat based on intuition, Amelia was fully utilizing her abilities.
"Hup!"
—*CRUNCH*.
A sound that should not come from a human echoed through the forest. Two of the three who were trying to escape collapsed with deep gashes across their chests, and one had his neck twisted clean around by the spear shaft, all within a single breath.
It was a feat only possible for Amelia, who possessed an ability focused on speed among physical enhancements, 'Acceleration'.
But I couldn't shake the unsettling feeling. That attack just now, they could have blocked it.
There was no reason for them to just take such an attack without doing anything.
"It's not... over, is it?"
"No. You'd know if you saw that creepy scene."
But I couldn't even admire the scene, nor did Amelia boast as usual. The thought crossed my mind that these villains might die if left like this, but a sense of danger overwhelmed that thought first.
"...It seems there's something else."
That last sight. The sight of them just before Amelia attacked them came to mind.
Their faces were filled with fear, tears streaming down. But they didn't run. Even though they had clearly been trying to escape just moments before.
"It was as if they were being forcibly dragged."
"Right? Yoo Siwoo, you thought so too, didn't you? Ugh, it's creepy."
It was clear that if we hadn't subdued them beforehand, they would have attacked us by any means necessary. Siwoo thought so.
"...This is really bad luck. My subordinates are dying like this to just three people?"
Suddenly, a deep, resonant voice could be heard. I quickly turned my head in the direction of the voice, to see about ten people walking pitifully towards us.
All of them had parts of their bodies transformed into animals. They must be Übermensch. But Siwoo's brow furrowed at a smell different from their pathetic appearance.
"...Blood."
"What?"
Amelia asked again, but Siwoo didn't answer.
It was the smell of blood. The same smell from when I cut down the Chameleon villain. Siwoo suddenly realized that the scent of blood was thickly emanating from them.
"My apologies. We don't want to mess with students either, as the risk is too high, but it's an order."
"...Whose order?"
"P-please save me! We are now... Kuh, ugh...! M-my neck...!"
A man who was frantically shouting something suddenly had his neck twisted, and he died instantly. After a brief moment of silence at the absurdly easy death, the man sighed and spoke.
"I told them not to do anything foolish. They never listen."
Unlike the others, this man was covered in gray fur all over his body, with large ears and a short tail. Finally, his red eyes and protruding incisors revealed what kind of animal he was.
"You, are you a rat? You certainly look like one."
"Yes. I am Marmot, the Rat of the Twelve Zodiacs, an Übermensch executive."
"...Did you kill that person?"
"I wish I had."
The man, who introduced himself as an Übermensch executive, let out a deep sigh.
"I told them to follow quietly. You two, don't do anything foolish and just do as you're told. They're clearly watching even now."
"Y-yes, sir!"
Watching? There were many questions I wanted to ask him, but he didn't seem inclined to say more.
"Alright, Academy brats. Seeing as only one of you is injured despite so many of our kids attacking, you seem to have some skill."
"Skill? Those guys couldn't even touch this spear."
"Is that so? I'm afraid it's going to get a little harder now. Don't resent us. We're all just trying to survive. ...Let's go, kids."
At his signal, the villains all began to charge. A fight absolutely disadvantageous for Amelia and me, forced to fight again without rest. Knowing this, Amelia began to groan.
"Isn't fighting back-to-back a bit cowardly?!"
"If you couldn't even touch the spear, then we have to be cowardly. Besides, being called cowardly is a compliment to a villain."
"Ugh, this is annoying!"
She couldn't even control her temper in this situation. Amelia, she seemed like a well-bred young lady. No matter how I thought about it, the term "well-bred lady" didn't seem to suit her. A rowdy young lady, maybe.
"But consecutive battles are actually good...! Not giving us time to rest will be your downfall!"
"That's interesting. Why?"
"Because I've never even been caught by my dad! Do you know why?"
"A-Amelia! What are you suddenly talking about?! We're fighting!"
For a moment, my grip almost loosened while I was dealing with the villain in front of me. Fortunately, the same seemed to be true for my opponent, so no dangerous situation occurred.
That, that girl. What is she suddenly talking about in the middle of a fight?!
"Because even my dad, who can activate his ability continuously, couldn't catch me...! If I thought I was going to get scolded, I'd run away beforehand!"
"...Alright, I don't need to hear any more. Is that your last will?"
"You're ready to witness the speed of Amelia Lindberg, whom even A-rank 4th, Lionel Lindberg, couldn't catch!"
"Wait, what?"
I could feel everyone being surprised by her words. A-rank 4th...? Lionel Lindberg?
He was a famous hero. People praised his reputation as Lionel of Light. And she's his daughter?
She never talked about her family, so there was no way to know. No, that's not what's important right now. What did she just say?
...Lionel couldn't catch her with his speed?
"Here I come!"
Amelia surged forward like a flash of light.
Her speed was on an entirely different level than before.