The Infinite World of Weapon Girls

The blood-red rapier fell to the ground. Tina was still savoring the moment and in surprise when Asako suddenly drew out the gun tied to her waist, pointed it at her temple with a cute smile.

Snapped--!

Before she could press it, Tina snatched it away, the girl looking at the red-clad loli with resentment:

"After saying all this... and even touching my heart, are you still determined to die for me?"

Asako smiled sadly, tears streaming down her face: "If it were Mitsuhiro, he would have been more decisive than me."

"But Guangye, who has already left, must want you to live well. I believe that even your so-called contract does not stipulate that you must die for your cause."

"...Well, but that's my freedom."

Her eyes narrowed into crescent moons, and Asako gave the girl a charming smile. Damn it… she's only ten years old, yet she's so adept and decisive at things like committing suicide for love.

Just as Tina hesitated to speak, a low, guttural sound, like that of a whale, suddenly came from the distant horizon.

The low volume was only relative to the pitch; the decibel level of that sound was clearly indescribably high. Tina was at least 50 kilometers away from that location, yet the air around her ears was also filled with a muffled, resonant sound, as if it were right next to her ear.

Tina and Asako looked towards the source of the sound from afar, and both girls saw a body larger than a mountain on the edge of the city in the distance.

It was a colossal, hideous, and ugly creature that defied description. It had a long, flat maw, countless eyes of varying sizes opening and closing on its body, and an immense, boundless body. From strangely arranged holes, it radiated endless, dazzling energy. Even from afar, it was a breathtaking and awe-inspiring sight.

It emitted a deep, resonant call like a whale, and soon after, countless combat helicopters and glider bombers circled overhead. All the air power in the Tokyo area was mobilized to launch a negligible bombardment against the behemoth.

The light emanating from the monster's body, the flames from the explosions of cannonballs hitting the monster, the lights of human towns, and the distant night sky were all completely illuminated.

(Phase V – Scorpio, has it finally arrived?)

The girl frowned.

"That's... Scorpio? How could this be... I just... I just managed to grab the box..."

Asako was afraid; such a huge monster probably really had the power to destroy Tokyo.

"Tina! Asako!"

The sudden sound snapped the two back to reality. Rentaro, his face filled with panic and fear, rushed over from a short distance away, followed by Enju.

Since they didn't see Hiruko Kagetane, they probably felt that since Scorpio had been summoned, there was no point in continuing to fight Rentaro, so they retreated with Kohina.

As Rentaro and his companion approached, they immediately smelled the strong stench of blood, and then inevitably discovered Mitsuhiro, covered in blood, beside Asako, and were instantly shocked.

Rentaro glared and shouted, "Kouye—!!"

“Guangye… was killed?! This…” Yanzhu’s eyes trembled, and she stared blankly at Tina, as if asking what had happened.

Tina closed her eyes: "...As you can see, she sacrificed herself."

“Otonashi Mitsuhiro, he is a warrior.” Rentaro took a deep breath. “Don’t worry, I will definitely apply to the Holy Emperor to grant him the highest honor.”

Rentaro Satomi's face suddenly darkened. He turned around and looked up—although his view was blocked by countless trees, Scorpio's almost sky-covering size was enough to make people tremble with fear even if they only saw half of its body in the air.

"It seems Scorpio has been summoned after all," Rentaro said in a deep voice. "I received an order from Kisaragi, instructing me to abandon the pursuit of the 'Seven Stars' Relics' and instead activate the 'Heavenly Ladder' to destroy Scorpio!"

Looking in the direction Yeonju pointed, in the distance to the southwest, there was a very tall tower-like building, like a towering pine tree reaching into the clouds, standing darkly among the mountains.

The so-called "Sky Ladder" is officially called the Linear Electromagnetic Projection Device. It is a railgun module capable of launching metal projectiles with a diameter of less than 800mm at sub-light speed, unleashing an attack that even Stage V cannot withstand. It is the only hope to destroy Scorpio.

The meaning behind Rentaro's words to the two of them was self-evident, but right now, with Mitsuhiro's sacrifice and Asako's heart broken, she clearly had no motivation.

Tina glanced down at Asako, who was kneeling silently beside Guangye's body, then looked away and said to Rentaro:

"There's no time to lose. You and Enju should go activate the 'Heavenly Ladder'... As for Asako's matter, I'll handle it. We'll meet up in a bit."

Rentaro, being very understanding, nodded in agreement. After offering Asako a word of condolence along with Enju, they hurried off toward the Heavenly Ladder.

The appearance of Scorpio brought an overwhelming, almost suffocating sense of oppression to everyone. Although their comrades had died, Rentaro and Enju wanted to comfort Asako, but under these circumstances, the protagonists had no time to mourn or pay their respects.

Since the plot hasn't gone off track yet, Rentaro is destined to make a tough decision and activate the Heavenly Ladder to eliminate the protagonist of Stage V.

"Asako, is the 'place' you're talking about in District 44?"

Asako's small body lay prone on the cold chest of Hikaru, and the little girl's sudden trembling body indicated her surprise.

Because she never mentioned Area 44... and no one else could possibly know of its existence.

“Cursed…no, Child of Light, Child of Hope,” Tina said. “Asako, your beliefs, Otonashi Mitsuaki’s beliefs, and the beliefs of the mysterious 44th District, I promise you…I will help you fulfill them. If I break my promise, it’s not too late for you to die…Now, I must go to the ‘Sky Ladder,’ because before that, I must destroy Scorpio. Please keep your promise—I am deeply grateful.”

Tina left Asako's pistol behind and then left as well.

The girl's figure disappeared into the dark, dense forest.

……

suddenly

bang——

A sudden gunshot made the girl stop in her tracks.

……

Asako Sakakida, you're so stupid. You're a really, really infuriatingly stupid idiot, hopelessly so, you know that?

Tina thought to herself.

Then, the girl loosened her tightly clenched hand, and several bullets that had already been ejected fell to the ground with a crisp 'clink' sound.

Tina only changed her weapon and kept a single blank round. Although it was close range and not a flint round, it couldn't cause much damage to the Cursed Child.

Finally, the girl truly left.

……

(Hmm...wait, am I...already dead?)

Despite feeling no pain, Asako feigned death, lying face down on the chest of the cold corpse, her pistol falling to the ground as if to confirm her presence.

Until quite a while later

Asako's lips, moistened by the tears that had slid down her face, curled up slightly.

...

……

……

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

[Ahhh, I'm so sorry for writing so slowly. I'll make up for it with 1 words tomorrow. The nuclear energy thing I mentioned yesterday will have to wait until tomorrow. ::_::]

【Ta70 Summer's Redemption (Part 1)】

Formerly Chiba Prefecture.

A place in a large forest with rugged terrain, where trees and buildings complement each other.

Jiang Jian carried Xia Shi on his back and ran quickly and nimbly, heading towards that dark, tower-like building, because Jiang Jian wanted to take a shortcut to get back as soon as possible.

"Xia Shi... Xia Shi, if you hear me, say something!"

Amidst the jolting and jolt of the journey, Xia Shi, who had been unconscious, slowly regained consciousness. Through his blurred vision, he saw scenery rushing past on both sides, and pairs of blood-red eyes staring at them from the shadows of the bushes, a chilling and terrifying sight.

"Brother Jiangjian..." came the weak, feeble voice.

"Xia Shi, it's so good that you're still awake. Look what I'm holding!" Jiang Jian waved the silver-white box in his hand, his voice full of satisfaction. "...This billion is already ours!"

Xia Shi forced a smile, bittersweet, and remained silent, while Jiang Jian continued running and chattering.

"Before submitting the commission, I will secretly resign from Mishima Security, register a security company myself, and then find the Holy Emperor to get all the rewards... Once I get the money, I'll quit this line of work. If it weren't for the money, who would risk their life to fight for those useless humans?"

Xia Shi: "..."

“Um… Xia Shi, after I'm relieved of my police duties, I don't want you to become someone else's Initiator. So, I will definitely take you away and let you enjoy wealth and luxury. Even if I don't have the inhibitors provided by IISO, I can buy them from the black market at a high price. In short, until I can't afford to support you anymore—as a way to repay the friendship we've built over the past two years.”

Xia Shi: "..."

The muscular, goofy guy suddenly grinned and said nostalgically, "Speaking of which, I stole Xia Shi from him. Since that's the case, I have to take full responsibility for it. Ten billion yen should be enough for us to squander until Tokyo is wiped out."

Xia Shi: "…………"

……

Compared to humans, Ikuma Shōken prefers the cursed child.

Even though they were both from a generation that was plundered, Shogan, who trained relentlessly and became incredibly strong, always rushed to the front lines in battles against Gastrea. He looked down on cowardly and scoundrel humans... and certain promoters of this despise them from the bottom of his heart.

Xia Shi's previous mentor, who was just an ordinary retired special police officer, was so cowardly that he let Xia Shi charge into battle while he handled logistics.

Coincidentally, Yi Xiong witnessed this. Since it was in the undiscovered outer perimeter area, he severed the coward's corpse with a single sword strike and seized Xia Shi to become his own Initiator.

Later, it was discovered that Xia Shi's personality and abilities unexpectedly compensated for his own shortcomings. He took the lead, while the high-IQ Xia Shi was responsible for logistics and strategy planning.

There's no dramatic or touching story, but if Ikuma hadn't appeared back then, Xia Shi might have been sold off by that coward and wouldn't be alive now, that's all.

They may be blinded by great temptations, but in the face of the apocalypse, not everyone has ugly and sinister intentions. It's just that everyone's experiences, stories, and companions are different.

……

Along the way, gastrulators of stage I and stage II frequently appeared.

These monsters, much larger than themselves, were as fragile as paper before Jiang Jian's giant sword, and were easily torn apart.

Suddenly, a cry soared into the sky from afar, deep and resonant like a whale's cry, quickly spreading to places hundreds of miles away. The sound waves swept across the former Chiba Prefecture, and then, the shogun sensed the imminent rampage of the dormant Gastrea.

Suddenly raising their heads, at the edge of the human area, where land meets sea, appeared a colossal and terrifying body, taller than a hundred-story building and larger than a giant aircraft carrier. Each of its shimmering tentacles could unleash a tsunami when it was raised, and could shatter the earth when it was struck.

A terrifying sense of crisis gripped Jiang Jian and Xia Shi's hearts; the monster's enormous size already revealed its identity.

“Yes… Scorpio,” Xia Shi said.

"No, that's impossible! The box is in my hands! How could Scorpio appear...?!"

“Since Hiruko Kagetane would so openly reveal the box, perhaps the appearance of Scorpio… was already destined,” Xia Shi said in a weak voice.

"Then I'm even more eager to see what exactly is in the box that can summon Stage V!"

Jiang Jian angrily took out the box and was about to open it when, at the same time, five or six dark figures swiftly swooped down from the sky. As if influenced by Scorpio's cry, they all carried a fierce and violent aura.

"Watch out—!" Xia Shi only had time to warn him.