Rebuild World

Akira's new HC31R augmented suit, code name Los Carden, was a huge upgrade compared to his previous augmented suit. One suit cost as much as 5 billion Aurum. Although he bought it at wasteland price from Katsuragi, it was still worth its price. It was stronger than a powered suit. It was also normally used by high-ranking Hunters who worked further to the east of Zegelt city.

When it came to such powerful equipment, it did not simply augment the physical prowess of its user. It was more correct to say that it transformed its user into a super-human.

It had an advanced support-adjustment system, which corrected the gap in the user's will and their bodily movements. It would enable a complete beginner to run full speed on a 10 centimetres width beam. It also worked in tandem with the user's reaction and unconscious movements, correcting them and making them more precise. It would enhance the skills of its wearer to a level comparable to an expert. It could output enough power to be able to kick a large vehicle up into the air like a pebble. Naturally, with such power, it was fitted with precise output control.

It could also work together with information-gathering devices to sharpen its users' senses. It could help users with extrasensory abilities to extend their senses to cover all 360 degrees. This would not improve one's vision, but instead, the ability to feel presence in all directions. It would remove blind spots and any possibility of getting caught in an ambush. Its user would even be able to feel disturbances in wind pressure.

It was further equipped with extremely powerful forcefield armour, which could project outside. Combined with the data from the information-gathering device, it could project precise forcefield armour to block incoming attacks.

As for the rifles, Akira changed his rifles to RL2 multi-rifles. It was compatible with various types of ammunition. It could change its barrel depending on the calibre of the bullet. It could even use special bullets that no normal multi-rifle could use. It cost 1 billion Aurum per rifle and Akira bought 4 of them. One was fixed to his bike while he carried the other three.

The medicine that he was already using was of the expensive type which cost 50 million Aurum per box. The medicine doubled as battle stimulants. Its healing effect was stronger and lasted longer. It would close major wounds and maintain the body of its consumer in its best state. It allowed extended time for high-speed maneuvers and prolonged the duration its user could fight at their full potential.

Akira's bike got upgraded with various modifications as well. He took off the AF anti-material cannon and replaced it with the newly bought TGP laser cannon. It was unusable unless it was connected to the bike's large-sized energy tank but was extremely powerful. Furthermore, it was easier to use than the AF anti-material cannon.

Including the medicines and the ammunition, all in all, Akira spent 16 billion Aurum in total. It could be said that after the upgrade, he had finally gained suitable firepower for a 50 billion bounty target. Though, it was a bit late into the game.

With all his new equipment, Akira was still hard-pressed against the onslaught from Pamela.

Akira was shooting C-bullets continuously through the small opening between buildings. He accomplished such precise shots while he was flying around with his bike, when up and down held no meaning. The C-bullets, charged with more energy, were faster and stronger than before. They formed a wall which flew toward their targets.

As expected, the remote automata that Pamela controlled could not fully avoid his bullets. However, it was possible to defend against them. They used their forcefield armour and forcefield shield on their air bikes. Even using their maid uniforms to defend against the bullets.

Even when that forcefield armour and shield got shattered by a single shot from the TGP laser cannon, those remote automata did not get completely obliterated. They could still move without their heads. Similarly, even if a part of their bodies got blown off, their remaining limbs would still continue to fight. They needed to be ripped to pieces, to the point it was no longer physically possible to fight. Otherwise, these remote automata would continue to fight under Pamela's will.

All of the automata moved like skilled fighters. They were all very well-equipped. Furthermore, they were fighting together with impeccable teamwork, pressing forward with no fear of death. It was as if their lives were to be sacrificed for a singular goal. That was just how terrifying the group attacking Akira was.

"Woah! They're really strong! Were they always this powerful!?"

Akira was unconsciously comparing them to the maids he had fought previously. Their individual strength, teamwork, equipment, and scale were on another level compared to before. He was feeling the pressure from their exchange. He had thought that he would have no problems facing his enemies with his new equipment. However, that naive belief was immediately swept away.

Even when his bike was moving haphazardly under Alpha's control, the enemy's air bikes were able to keep up without an issue. In the middle of their high-speed chase, both parties were shooting at each other while blocking and evading shots. The buildings engulfed in the battle were falling apart, unable to withstand the intensity of the battle. The crumbled pieces got blown apart even before they were able to fall to the ground.

"Stop complaining and just keep shooting! Next! On your right!"

"I know, I know!!"

Due to the jamming smoke, Alpha could not provide her usual full support to Akira. Thus, he had to compensate through hard work.

Akira compressed his time perception even further. Inside the slowed-down world, falling rubble hardly moved. It would take hours before they reached the ground. Akira's senses were sharpened to the point he could basically feel the presence of every slow piece of falling rubble.

Even with his compressed time perception, the remote automata were still moving relatively fast. He fixed his aim against those automata and shot at them with the rifle in his right hand. At the same time, he identified the bullets coming for him and actively shifted his position away from where they would travel. Rather than recognizing the incoming shots as a wall of bullets, he accurately identified each individual bullet and predicted their trajectories. He squeezed his body through the small openings between the bullets. At the same time, Akira released a barrage to completely destroy the human-shaped automata, creating mashes of green blood and a mix of metal and flesh.

"Next! Below you!"

"Geez! There's just no end to them!"

Akira aimed his left RL2 multi-rifle below and released a swarm of mini-missiles. The mini-missiles flew straight toward the maids that were trying to attack Shiori and Kanae. However, the mini-missiles flew way slower than the C-bullets. It exchanged speed for its guiding system. Thus, it did not have enough firepower to break through the automata maids' forcefield armour and shield.

However, the action of blocking his missiles created a fatal opening for Shiori and Kanae to exploit. Shiori quickly seized the opening and sliced the maids to pieces while Kanae crushed them with her powerful punches. They used effective means to completely destroy the remote automata; which only those with a high degree of knowledge over automata could perform.

Although Akira was fighting at a disadvantage, it was not like he had no chance of winning. He could emerge victorious because Pamela was more focused on killing Shiori and Kanae instead of him. Thus, Akira's priority was to support Kanae and Shiori instead of destroying the remote automata. He would shoot whenever he saw an opening, which happened quite often as the automata were constantly trying to land a fatal blow on Shiori and Kanae. In the end, Akira was able to destroy more automata than the other two.

Pamela's narrow focus was beneficial to Akira, which caused him to be curious about it.

"Say, Alpha. Why is that maid so fixated on Shiori and Kanae? Wasn't it me who tried to kill Chloe from the start? As a matter of fact, I'm still aiming to kill her right now. Wouldn't it be better to prioritize me instead?"

"She must have her own reason for doing something like this. It's not our place to be worried over her reasons. Look. If Shiori and Kanae get killed, you would be next on her list, you know? You should be more worried about that."

If Kanae and Shiori got killed, all the remote automata would go after him, all at the same time. Thus, although it was strange, ensuring Shiori and Kanae survived meant his survival.

"You're right, I'll focus on that."

The TGP laser cannon swept through his enemies. Although the laser was relatively small, it was able to cleanly vaporize the maid automata together with the buildings behind them.

However, some of them managed to put up their forcefield shield to block the laser. They pushed its power output, concentrated the area covered by the shield, and managed to protect themselves.

Unfortunately for them, that was not the end. Akira quickly followed the laser sweep with a barrage of bullets. The forcefield shields got greatly weakened from receiving the laser and could not withstand the barrage. They were broken to pieces when faced against a barrage of C-bullets. A moment later, mini-missiles came in and struck their targets almost at the same time. This resulted in a spectacular explosion, which blew his enemies into chunks.

Akira quickly shifted his attention to his next target. He reminded himself that he did not have the leeway to be thinking about unnecessary things. In order to preserve his life, he needed to desperately provide support for Shiori and Kanae.

Down on the ground, Shiori brought down her blade. It was towards a remote automaton coming at her from the front. Powerful forcefield armour extended from the contact point of the blade, and broke through the enemy's forcefield armour, splitting its head cleanly into two.

But even after cleaved it into two, the automaton still stared at Shiori. It moved as if it was going to throw a counterattack. It somehow maintained its balance with only one leg as it aimed its rifle at Shiori.

Shiori, who had already anticipated this, quickly jumped to the side. She moved away from where it was aiming and swung her blade horizontally. The body, which was already cut into two, got horizontally sliced apart together with its rifles. Only now did it get rendered completely harmless.

Meanwhile, Kanae drove a powerful kick into one of the remote automata. Her maid augmented suit was provided by the Lion Steel Eastern District Fourth Branch. Her equipment required permission from the branch manager to be borrowed. Thus, she was able to easily break through the forcefield armour and obliterate the upper body of the remote automaton.

As if they were waiting for that opening, two other remote automata released a strike to the left and to the right of Kanae. They were aiming for Kanae's head. However, Kanae quickly swung her arms and countered them, blowing them away. Although the automata were clearly out of her reach, she used the speed filter to send shockwaves from her punches.

As expected, the power was weaker than a direct hit. It only managed to blow them back. It was not enough to destroy their bodies. Nonetheless, it was an opening for Akira. He did not let that chance slip and shot them to pieces.

To prevent damage to the city from bombardment and gunfire, the jamming smoke was mixed with particles that created a speed filter effect. Although it was able to fulfill its original goal, it also provided Kanae and Shiori, who specialized in melee combat, with some level of support.

"Ane-san! Are you going to be okay?"

Shiori was using a powerful accelerator drug, which had minimal side effects. Kanae's bright voice could be heard through the communication device, which made it possible for them to communicate in a similar manner to telepathy.

Shiori replied with a rather curt voice.

"If you have the time to worry about me, you should stop with that smile of yours and take this fight seriously!"

"Well, I can't just remove this side of me, you know!? It would also be the end of me if you get killed here! I'm sure that Akira-boy also knows it. That's exactly why he's providing us support!"

"If you understand that, put more effort into it so as to not cause him unnecessary worry!"

"Yeah yeah! I'm doing my best over here! Though, this is basically the opposite of what we originally planned!"

Shiori's group had offered Akira to fight against Chloe together, but he rejected it. They would be in trouble if Akira got killed. Thus, they donned their camouflage and hid around him. They originally planned to provide him support if he got into trouble, which would make him more likely to agree to their offer. In the end, a maid automaton appeared. To eliminate it, they had to expose themselves. Afterwards, everything went completely opposite of what they had in mind. Akira was the one providing support.

Though it did not change the fact that they were fighting together, albeit, their current situation being that Shiori and Kanae acted as the decoys.

"But still, those things they are using are meant for attacking a city, right? I didn't expect them to bring that out, you know!? No matter how much the third ward branch is siding with Chloe, I never thought that Beltram-sama would give the permission to use those weapons just to kill a bounty target, you know?"

"Mention of the bounty target is just an excuse. The request from branch manager Flip to assassinate Chloe too. Half of it is probably an excuse. Fear of a war between branches is also an excuse."

"Do you mean… that there's a good chance branch manager Beltram and Flip are actually working together behind the scenes?"

"If that is indeed the case, it would explain why branch manager Beltram allowed the use of the Rank 9 warehouse. That way, they can make this incident bigger. Of course, this is nothing but just my guess."

Kanae thought Shiori's guess sounded a bit too far-fetched. She smiled wryly and replied.

"If that's true, they really threw Milady and Akira-boy into a massive mire of trouble."

"I'll have Chloe-sama take responsibility. After all, she started all of this."

"Well, I will do my best to make her take responsibility as well!"

During the battle, Shiori was obviously livid while Kanae was smiling wryly.

Both worked together, offence and defence, destroying the remote automata one by one. Although the size of the enemy was massive and each automation was strong, their number was dwindling. If they could keep it up, it was only a matter of time before they got the upper hand. Just when Shiori and Kanae started to see the light at the end of the tunnel, the situation suddenly changed.

Akira, who was fighting somewhere not too far away from them, suddenly landed his bike on the ground. He accelerated it toward Shiori and Kanae. He was in such a rush that he was willing to toss away his advantage of mobility. He chose to race on the ground, instead of up in the sky, where he could freely evade.

Shiori and Kanae, who noticed his action, were taken by surprise. They understood that he was subtly warning them to get out of this place as soon as possible. They unhesitatingly jumped on board Akira's bike.

A moment later, after Akira and the rest left the area, a sudden full-scale bombardment rained down. It obliterated everything in that area. No buildings were left standing.

A large multi-legged vehicle was slowly approaching the border between the slums and the wasteland. A hundred-meter-long cannon was perched on top of its chassis. It would not be strange for a cannon of that size to be installed on an inter-city transport vehicle. Its gargantuan body was supported by thick powerful legs that could easily crush everything in its way as it moved forward.

There was a straight line of destruction drawn from its large muzzle till deep into the slums. Normally, this line would have extended into the lower district. Thanks to the effects of the jamming smoke, that line stopped in the middle of the slums.

Akira was desperately racing out of the area exactly because of that cannon shot.

As he drove to the other side of a dilapidated building, using it as a shield. He could not help but frown when he caught sight of the multi-legged vehicle, through the gaps between the buildings.

"What the heck is that thing!? Are they planning to attack the city or something!?"

Shiori also frowned when she saw the multi-legged vehicle.

"I heard that they opened the Rank 9 warehouse, but to bring that out here… it's overkill…"

"Rank 9 warehouse?"

"It's a particular term used within Lion Steel. It refers to a facility that houses weapons capable of assaulting a city."

"So, they're planning on attacking Kugamayama city?"

"I heard that they're originally dispatched as escorts or as a deterrent force. Lion Steel has many enemies as it is one of many large companies in the eastern district. Thus, it is necessary for it to have such a mighty force."

Kanae smiled and joined in on the conversation.

"Akira-boy, that's not important right now. Whatever their reason is, it doesn't change the fact that they brought that thing out to this battlefield. Now, the important thing is how to bring it down."

Akira frowned. Although it was indeed exactly as Kanae said, he could not help but still be bothered by its presence.

"…You're right, so, how to destroy that thing? Do you know its weakness?"

"Nope. I don't!"

Akira still had his eyebrows knit as he shifted his gaze to Shiori.

"I'm not much knowledgeable about that unit. But I will at least tell you what I know about it."

Forcefield armour protected its large frame at any given moment. It used a huge amount of energy with each large-sized laser cannon fire. Furthermore, its constant forcefield armour took a lot of energy to maintain as well. However, it could replenish its energy wirelessly from the other vehicles around it. Thus, there was close to zero chance of depleting its energy reserves. Although the cannon could not angle to shoot the area high above and under it, there were smaller cannons installed to cover those areas. Therefore, trying to attack from those angles would be equivalent to suicide. With Shiori's explanation, Akira understood just how powerful the opponent was. He was stuck, unsure of how to deal with it.

Alpha, who was controlling the bike, suddenly made a sharp turn and accelerated. Everyone on the bike, including Akira, was flusteredly trying to maintain their balance. They were trying their best to not get thrown off the bike. None of them offered a single word of complaint. They all already knew why they had to be extra cautious in their current situation.

The multi-legged vehicle once again released a shot. The laser cannon consumed a colossal amount of energy. It released a pillar of light, which evaporated everything that got caught inside it. It drew a clear straight line through the slums. The buildings that made the slightest bit of contact around the circumference of the laser got blown up high into the sky. It took some time before they fell back down like rain, back into the slums.

To evade the falling rubble, Akira had to drive the bike erratically. Thus the trio's expressions were grave.

The buildings in the slums served as excellent covers for Akira, enabling him to slip away from the laser cannon. However, if it kept shooting like that, it was only a matter of time before he ran out of cover. As the vehicle was slowly but surely moving forward, Sheryl's headquarters would eventually get within its range.

"Wait. Didn't you say they won't use missiles to crush us earlier?"

"About that… well, in the end, it's nothing but my own guess. If Pamela can do something that flashy to eliminate us, she would be satisfied with that, right?"

Watching how Kanae speak with a wide smile on her face, with no sign of malice, Akira, for some reason, got convinced. He lightly sighed, glanced back at Shiori and asked.

"Honestly. I don't think that huge thing would only aim at us while ignoring Sheryl's base though. Any good ideas?"

Shiori knitted her eyebrows.

"Akira-sama. My apologies, but I can't think of anything else other than to get close enough to infiltrate the vehicle. We can only destroy it from the inside."

The reason why Shiori apologized was because it was the same as asking Akira to take a suicidal approach.

Although Shiori's blade and Kanae's fist were equipped with powerful anti-forcefield armour, it was still not enough to break through the multi-legged vehicle's forcefield armour. In the first place, it was not easy to slip past the bombardment to get close enough to use their blade and fist. After all, they had to deal with its cannon and the bombardment from the other surrounding tanks in the area. The closer they got to the wasteland, the more intense the bombardment would be since the enemy would not need to worry about damaging the city by accident. There was a good chance they would die before they managed to reach the multi-legged vehicle.

However, at this rate, the encroaching force would get close enough to hit Sheryl's base. That was where Reina and the others were at. To prevent that from happening, Akira had no other choice.

He could not afford to let Sheryl's base get blown away. Thus, he was stuck in between Shiori's suggestion and one other alternative.

"…Alpha, how many should I use? Just one shot would be enough, right?"

"I will do the calculations until the time it takes to shoot. In the meantime, get closer while I'm gathering information through the scanner."

"…Alright."

Akira heaved a huge sigh. He had no other choice but to use his trump card. Thus, he pushed his two RL2 multi-rifles to Shiori, as if he was handing them over to her.

"We will charge right into that thing after we avoid its next shot. Try to shoot at it once we get close enough."

"Sure, I don't mind. But in all honesty, I'm terrible with rifles, you see."

"I know. That's why I'm giving you the one equipped with mini-missiles."

"Oh, thank you Akira-boy."

Kanae smiled brightly and thanked him. Even if Akira agreed to go with them after listening to their explanation and suggestion, that did not change the fact they were going to suicidally charge toward the enemy. Even so, Kanae was still smiling amusedly.

Although Shiori was thankful as well, she was still confused as to why Akira passed her two of his rifles.

"What about you, Akira-sama?"

Akira did not reply. He simply switched to his third RL2 multi-rifle. It was obvious from his expression that he was going to do something that he absolutely did not want to do. However, he had no other choice given the situation he was in.

It was not difficult for Shiori to guess that rifle was Akira's trump card. Something he did not want to use if it could be helped. She was grateful he was willing to go as far as to use his trump card.

"Very well then. Leave the counterfire to us."

"Yeah. I leave it to you."

To get away from the enemies' attacks, the bike was racing haphazardly through the slums. The three were extremely anxious, just as much as they were focused.

Then, the time finally came. The multi-legged vehicle released a shot from its large laser cannon. This time, it was sacrificing some of its firepower by sweeping it sideways. Instead of drawing a straight line of total destruction, it left a mark which looked like a fan.

However, Alpha had taken that into account and calculated a method to avoid it. The bike went up to the sky, escaping from the gigantic beam. The bike kept going higher, only stopping right before they entered the red area, where Akira was not allowed to enter. The bike then made a sharp turn and ran while being upside down. It was as if the bike's tires were running on the border of the red area.

Although the multi-legged vehicle had an immensely powerful laser cannon, it could not shoot in consecutive succession. Akira used that opening between the shots to get as close as possible. He accelerated the bike at full speed, which also reduced its ability to evade.

However, the multi-legged vehicle was not exactly vulnerable between each shot. Its smaller cannons and missile pods were actively firing during that time. Although the smaller cannons were easier to avoid, the missiles were equipped with homing devices. Since they were slower, the speed filter did not affect them. Akira, who was prioritizing speed over dexterity, had to come up with a way to deal with them.

"Here they come! I'm relying on both of you!!"

As Akira stated with a solemn expression, Shiori gathered all her focus. She was serious as usual while Kanae was still smiling as usual.

"Understood!"

"Roger that!"

While the bike was travelling at top speed, Shiori swung her blade, which glowed dimly with light particles. It released a wave of light that flew from the blade, which sliced through the speed filter particles.

The guidance system of the incoming missiles was thrown off due to that gap. It pushed their trajectories away from the bike. After the bike flew past those missiles, the jamming smoke caused the missiles to detonate a moment later. The bike extended out its forcefield armour behind, to protect it from the explosion. Meanwhile, it used the shockwave to accelerate even faster.

Shiori quickly switched to the rifle and started shooting the missiles in front of her. The C-bullets flew towards their target.

Naturally, the speed filter greatly reduced the C-bullet's range. However, it only prevented them from sniping from afar. It still retained enough firepower to deal substantial damage in mid-range. Even if the speed filter reduced its speed, the C-bullets still contained energy, enough to cause damage. As such, it was sufficient enough to shoot down the incoming missiles.

The missiles veered off their original trajectories before exploding. To avoid these explosions, the bike expanded out forcefield armour under its wheels to pave its path forward.

Just like Shiori, Kanae was using a mix of her fist as well as Akira's rifle to shoot down the missiles. She used the shockwave from her punches to deflect and throw the missiles off target. Meanwhile, using the rifle, shoot down the other missiles.

The bike's TGP laser cannon and RL2 multi rifle swept sideways. The laser and barrage of C-bullets shot down missiles, protecting the bike as it approached the multi-legged vehicle.

With heavy fire flying in all directions, Akira held his RL2 multi-rifle firmly with both hands as he carefully aimed it.

Currently, Alpha could not provide her full support to Akira. Thus, he requested her to focus on shooting down and evading the incoming missiles. Basically, he would handle this shot all by himself. After all, currently, even his augmented suit did not have Alpha's support. This meant there was no aim correction support.

In this situation where he could not afford to miss, Akira sharpened his focus to its utmost limit.

"Akira, it's about time, I'll start the countdown."

"Alright!"

Akira pushed to gather his focus even more. He rerouted most of his processing capabilities to sharpen his senses. As all unnecessary information for the sniping was omitted from his mind, the world started to turn colourless. Eventually, the world blurred out from his vision. Only the multi-legged vehicle he was focused on looked more vivid. Its whole structure became clearer in his eyes. As this artificial world he had created in his mind became even more accurate, the differences between the real world and the artificial world shrank to zero.

"Five… Four… Three…"

The bike was intensely swaying left and right as it evaded the incoming attacks. Akira gathered his focus and compressed his time perception. The swaying slowed down until it suddenly came to a complete stop.

"Two… One…"

The time came to a complete halt. The contour of the multi-legged vehicle was starting to blur. Now, the only thing that looked crystal clear in Akira's view, was the trajectory line between the muzzle of his rifle and its target. Akira stared at his target as if giving it a death verdict.

"Zero!!"

At the same time Alpha gave the signal, Akira pulled down the trigger. It was perfectly timed.

The released shots went straight, destroying everything in its way. It was as if the warheads were boring a hole through space and time. In total, Akira released five shots. All 5 shots did not slow down at all. It was as if they eradicated the particles that caused the speed filter effect. They mowed down everything in their way and eventually reached their target.

Right at that moment, the warheads struck, and a spectacular explosion occurred. It was as if the warheads themselves, and everything they stuck had been converted into pure energy. Although all five warheads landed at different locations at different times, the explosions compounded into one colossal ball of fire. It further enhanced their overall destructiveness as the explosion devoured the multi-legged vehicle.

The shockwave was so powerful that it compressed the surrounding jamming smoke. It triggered a phenomenon that only happened from a highly dense pressurized colourless mist. The pressurized jamming smoke formed a dome, which contained the energy of the explosion. Thanks to that, the explosion had nowhere to go but inside, multiplying its destructive power manifolds.

In a state where the dome partitioned out the rest of the world for a few seconds, the explosion continued to rage within it. The explosion eventually condensed so much energy that it leaked through the weakening dome.

The explosion, which originally was a large fireball, got concentrated and confined within a small space. The moment a crack appeared, the energy burst out, creating a powerful gust of wind that blew everything around it away.

When the dome finally dissipated, nothing was left inside it. It was as if that area had been ripped off from space and time.

Akira used 5 annihilator warheads at the same time. It brought about the result he had anticipated,

Akira sighed as he gazed at the destruction that he just caused.

"I did it… annihilator warheads… 5 of them…"

Seeing Akira's reaction and the aftermath that it left, Shiori could understand why he did not want to use all his annihilator warheads. However, his next words made her realize that she was misunderstanding things.

"Dammit, one shot cost me 100 million Aurum…! And I had to use 5 of them…!"

Akira was lamenting the cost. When Shiori noticed, she could not hide her stupefaction.

"Uhhh, Akira-sama. Putting aside how you got that ammunition; annihilator warheads are something that you can only use if you receive special permission. In the worst-case scenario, you might get arrested for carrying one…"

However, Akira replied back too nonchalantly.

"Hm? Well, Kugamayama city had already declared me to be a monster. They are also treating me as one. So, I don't see any reason to be worried about that now."

"I-I see…"

Shiori was slightly taken aback by Akira's unthinkable response. While on the other hand, Kanae was laughing her ass off.