Infinite Stratos - Volume 8, page 4
But the smile I can see now is a little different from before.
Right, it felt like a wild beast licking its lips in front of its prey.
“Oh, Orimura Ichika-kun, your fishing rod got a bite.”
“Ah!”
I hurriedly pull up a rod.
A fat liver fish jumped out from the water, and it might be the largest one for the day.
“Beautiful.”
“Th-thanks.”
I’ve been waiting for a while, but the achievement of catching a fish still can’t increase my appetite.
After that, I put the fish I reeled into the basket, put another bait on my hook, and throw it back into the water surface.
“But I do like to readjust those picky ISes.”
“Adjust?”
“Yeah, like convincing those ISes that hate shooting weapons, train them with those weapons for example. This is adjusting.”
It’s like training a horse. Hikaruno-san quipped and pulled her line.
“Ah—got away.”
“A big fish?”
“No, most likely just a small fry.”
Hikaruno-san sighs as she puts on the bait again. Leaving aside the size of the escaped fish, her bust measurements are comparable to Yamada-sensei’s level.
“Gulp…”
(—Haa!? This isn’t good!)
I hurriedly looked away.
“Fufufu.”
I could hear Hikaruno-san’s cheerful giggle from beside me.
◇
“Haa, I feel lethargic for some reason.”
Rin cups her hands behind her head against the corridor wall and drinks a packet juice dangling in the air, supported by a straw, looking nonchalant.
“Fufu, is it because Ichika isn’t around?”
Charlotte, who’s walking beside her, said this, and Rin nearly dropped her juice packet in shock.
“Wh-what!? Tha-that’s not it! Humph! It’s fine for that kind of guy to not be around!”
“Yes sure.”
On a side note, they were paired up together because they had a common subject before this, and they were on the way back after compiling their lesson data.
It truly was Rin’s style to buy juice immediately after class.
“But it’s really troublesome not to be able to use IS now. It’s in personal lock mode for the time being; it won’t be stolen, and it’s useless even if it’s stolen.”
Rin said this as she looked at the ‘Shenlong’ on her wrist.
Its original form was that of a ring bracelet, but in a personal lock mode, it would stick on the arm while being less than 1mm thick, and would look like some trendy sticker on first glance.
“The problem is that this mode is going to be slow when the user needs to use it for emergency protection.”
“Well, it can’t be helped. It’s like disassembling a gun.”
“Hm, well, we went through quite some training too, so it’s not like we’ll be dealt with easily. Also, we can still summon them when we need to, just that it’ll take some time.”
“Yeah, but because of this, all personalized IS users have to move in more than twos.”
“The only one on her own in the academy is the second year Tatenashi-san, right?”
“Yeah, and also Ichika. I think he’s probably fine.”
“…Really, hurry up and come back.”
Rin inadvertently muttered, “Ah”, and covered her mouth again.
But Charlotte heard her clearly, and giggled as she looked back.
“I-it-it’s not that! I’m just, well, that guy never went through military training, so…!”
“Right right, you’re worried, aren’t you?”
“N-no—”
Rin stammered harder, and the lights on the corridor suddenly went out.
The corridors, classrooms, and electronic bulletins were all switched off at that moment.
Of course, it was not pitch dark as it was daytime—the moment Rin thought of this.
“The defense shutter!? Eh!? Why is it sliding down!?”
The defense wall slid down diagonally, protecting the glass windows.
Amidst the buzz full of screams of shock, all the walls were sealed up, and the interior of the building was so dark the fingers could not be seen.
“…2 seconds. Hey, Charlotte.”
“Hm, I know. There’s no switch to the emergency power, and the response lights aren’t lit. There’s a catch.”
They activate their IS low energy mode and summon the display window to their eyes. They also switch their sights to night vision mode, activate their sonars, heat sensors, motion sensors, sonar to sight radar.
“This is Laura. Are you alright, Charlotte?”
“Rin-san, where are you now?”
Both Charlotte and Rin received the messages on the IS private channels from Laura and Cecilia respectively.
Just when they were about to answer, they were interrupted by an intercept channel.
“All personalized suit users are to gather at the underground command room. I’m sending a map over. If there are walls getting in your way, feel free to destroy them.”
It was Chifuyu’s calm yet forceful voice.
These words clearly indicated that something was going to happen in this IS Academy again.
Chapter 2: The Name of the Strongest Champion in the World - Byunhilde
“Then, let me explain the situation.”
They were in the operations room in the IS Academy underground special zone.
Normally, this was not a place any student would know of, but at this point, all the personal unit pilots in the Academy were gathered.
Houki, Cecilia, Rin, Charlotte, Laura, Kanzashi and Tatenashi were lined up, with Chifuyu and Yamada standing in front of them.
This operation room seemed to run on a completely independent power supply, and the display clearly showed all information. However, it was not a hologram, but an old-styled display.
“But to think that there’s such an area…”
“Yeah, it surprises me a little…”
Rin and Cecilia looked around the room and whispered amongst themselves, only to be warned by Chifuyu immediately.
“Be quiet, Huang, Alcott! We’re in the middle of a briefing!”
“Ye-yes!”
“So-sorry!”
After Chifuyu growled at them, Rin and Cecilia stopped their whispering.
Then, Maya enlarged the shown data and started to explain to all that were present.
“Right now, all the systems in IS Academy are shut down. This is an electronic attack from some unknown source…in other words, we can conclude that we’re attacked by a hacker.”
Maya’s voice sounded more rigid than usual. It seemed that it was a rather urgent situation to have students enter this special zone.
“There’s still no student hurt up till now, and there’s no endangering of lives even as the defensive walls are in the way. Not all of the defensive walls went down, so it seems only a portion of them were activated.”
So you can go to the toilet, you know? She said, but nobody laughed.
“Er-erm, do you have any questions about the current situation?”
“Yes.”
Laura raised her hand. Like usual, an active soldier would be very active when something came up.
“I heard that IS Academy runs on an independent system. Is it really possible to be hacked into under such situations?”
“A-about that…”
Maya seemed to be really troubled, and she turned aside. Chifuyu seemed to understand what she meant, and spoke up, saying,
“This isn’t the issue. The issue is who’s attacking us now.”
“And what’s the enemy’s objective?”
“There’s no need for so much work if we knew.”
That’s true. Laura said, and finished her question.
Nobody else raised their hands, and Maya turned to explain the content of the operation.
“Then, Shinonono-san, Alcott-san, Huang-san, Dunois-san, Bodewig-san, please head to the access room and carry out a computer dive through the IS core network. Sarashiki Kanzashi-san, please act as backup.”
Maya declared eloquently, but there was a silent response from the personal IS users.
“…”
“Eh? What is it, everyone?”
Besides Tatenashi, all of them looked confounded as they stood in front of Maya.
“““Computer dive!?”””
“Yes. You do know there’s such a possibility in theory, right? The IS pilots can dive into the computer world as a virtual visualization through the bypass protecting the neural system…this method however is not just theoretical. In fact, we’re restricted by the additional clauses of the Alaska treaty, but because we have fulfilled 4 case criteria for this situation, we’re allowed to use it.”
“Th-that isn’t what I’m trying to ask!”
Rin swung her fists as she flailed them around.
“Yes! As for computer dive, are we, well…”
Cecilia said in a troubled manner, and Charlotte continued off from her words,
“We’re going to use the IS coherence function and nanomachine signals to upload a personal consciousness and enter the computer world like this—”
“This itself doesn’t possess any risks, but there’s probably no benefit. No matter what kind of computer it is, recalibrating the software, hardware or both will be faster than diving into the IS computer world itself.”
After Laura’s explanation, Kanzashi adds on,
“And also…the pilot’s defenseless when diving into the computer world…it’ll be troubling if something happens…”
In the end, Houki expressed her view in place of everyone.
“Also, it’s still too dangerous to gather all the personal pilot users at the same place.”
Upon hearing all these suggestions, Chifuyu concluded decisively.
“No, this operation requires us to repel the hackers through a computer dive, and I won’t listen to any disagreements. If anyone’s not willing, they can back out.”
All of them were overwhelmed by her pressure.
“No, that’s not it. It’s not that I’m unwilling…”
“Just, a little surprised…”
“Ca-can you do it, Laura?”
“Ah, yes, that’s right.”
“I’ll try my best…”
“I-I’ll do it. Just let me succeed in this mission.”
Upon hearing all their agreement, Chifuyu clapped her hands.
“Right, then head to the access room to carry out the computer dive! Begin the operation!”
Houki and company accepted this command and left the operations room.
The ones left behind were Chifuyu, Maya and Tatenashi.
“We have another mission for you.”
“Please tell me.”
Tatenashi was showing no signs of her usual folly attitude as she silently nodded.
“I guess another force will attack the Academy while the system’s down.”
“An enemy—is it?”
There would certainly be another country using this chaos to invade, and Chifuyu had already seen through this.
“Right, they can’t battle now. Sorry for asking you again.”
“Leave it to me.”
“You’ll be in a tough defensive battle.”
“Don’t worry. Even if it’s like this, I’m still the student council president.”
She said and showed a fearless smile, but Chifuyu’s expression did not change at all.
“But your IS took quite some damage during that incident a few days ago. It’s probably not completely recovered yet.”
“Yes, but I’m Sarashiki Tatenashi. In this situation, I know how to fight.”
As the leader amongst the students, she would not take even a step back.
Chifuyu saw the strong determination deep inside her eyes, and sighed.
She then looked straight at Tatenashi and said,
“I’ll leave it to you then.”
Tatenashi bowed and excused herself as she walked out of the operations room.
Chifuyu and Maya witnessed her leave, and spoke with heavy hearts.
“What exactly are we doing…we’re making the students we’re supposed to protect fight…”
“Orimura-sensei…”
She did not say ‘it can’t be helped’. This was something she could not say.
No matter what reason it was, the act of making students…children stand on the battlefield was unforgivable.
Whether it was to Chifuyu or Maya, there were limits they could not back away from.
“Alright, now’s not the time to stand around foolishly. We still have our own jobs.”
“Yes!”
Chifuyu and Maya proceeded to prepare for something.
◇
“…”
With a click, the belts on the boots tightened.
Chifuyu was dressed in a black ninja-like body suit, and she lifted her head.
She was looking at the 6 blades called katanas, refined from the sharp physical sabers used by IS, and they were leaning on the wall in a sheathed state.
She inserted them into the holster on her thighs, and became an abnormally shaped samurai.
“It’s been a while since I tied my hair like this.”
She said as she bundled her hair tightly.
Chifuyu, with her hair tied into a ponytail, wielded an IS blade with two hands.
“—Let’s go.”
Click. The door opened.
Chifuyu walked into the darkness, and only the emergency lights under her feet showed her profile.
The reflected face of Chifuyu shown on the blade ostensibly showed a smile.
◇
“Alright, now then.”
Tatenashi pulled outside from the destroyed defense wall, and landed on the floor gently.
“The students have all evacuated. In that case, it’s fine, I guess.”
Pak. She opened the fan, and there were the words ‘welcome guests’ written on it.
She was not welcoming them with a smile, but with a metal fist.
“Intruder alert, intruder alert.”
Tatenashi’s cellphone started to beep loudly.
She took the phone up, and looked at the screen. There was a camera independent of the school’s system…in other words, it was a shot of the enemy she took on her own.
These were 6 ‘hairy creatures’ with wilted leaves-like objects stuck onto them, and it was impossible to distinguish the gender.
On first glance, one might think they were forest camouflage clothing, but they were actually completely different.
“I remember that thing is the newest optical hologram that takes a snapshot of the surroundings and shows it to the surface.”
The things that looked like wilted leaves were actually unique moveable membranes; normally, they would take the appearance of leaves, but once the camouflage activates, they would cover the wearer piece by piece, and display the surrounding scenery on it, creating a camouflage effect.
(Speaking of which, we have special ops with such newest equipment enter the Academy soon after the system died, huh? It certainly feels weird.)
But they were probably a different group from the ones who deactivated the system. If they were, it would be most efficient for them to barge in right at the moment when the system went down.
(Well, this proves that we’re being watched all the time. How unappealing.)
This is IS Academy, an all-girls school with girls in bloom, and there’s a 24 hour surveillance on this place? The adults really lack the romantic mood—Tatenashi thought.
“Oh my?”
This was a long straight corridor, nothing could be seen, and there were no sounds of footsteps, but there was something.
“Well, I didn’t think I’ll reach it so soon. I guess I’m a woman who’s beloved by fate and causality.”
Pushhhh, pussshhh.
Unique metallic bullets flew at Tatenashi with a short burst of sounds.
But those bullets stopped right in front of her.
“!?”
“Fufu, just kidding. This is ‘Active Inertia Canceller’.”
In fact, she had already scattered the aqua nanomachines of her IS, the “Mysterious Lady” into the air. While IS shooting weapons were a different case, she could still easily block ordinary soldier shots.
She bared a smile at the faltering expressions of the enemies she could not see.
Also, the nanomachines were the ones who searched out these invisible enemies. Even if they had no voices or visible appearance, she could easily find them with the sensing particles as they were still touching the air. Also—
“Poof.”
Tatenashi clicked her thumb.
In an instant, a large explosion engulfed the corridor.
“This is one of the Mysterious Lady specialty, the “Clear Passion”. How does it feel?”
In any case, indoor battles were what the ”Mysterious Lady” was best at. In ordinary situations, she could control the nanomachines fluidly, whether it was the density, or the currents.”
Though the enemy was a special force with the latest equipment, they were ordinary people, and they were certainly no match for an IS that was not even completely activated.
“It feels like I’m bullying the weak here.”
Haa…Tatenashi let out a sigh…however,
“Ufufu, I really love doing such things.”
The demonic woman grinned away.
Normally, the side of justice would be on Tatenashi’s side, especially as the enemy invaded into a girls school with most of its students unarmed.
“Alright, it’s coming. Here’s my special move, Tatenashi Five!”
Once she said that, her silhouette split into 5.
There were 5 Sarashiki Tatenashis in uniform, wielding lances as they stood in a row.
“Well, this is the Mysterious Lady’s ability.”
In other words, some of the 5 were illusions created through nanomachine lens, while the rest were water figures created by the aqua nanomachines.
The problem would be to look for the real one.
And as for the water figures—
“BAM!”
They were physical bodies with explosive functions. Since they were created by water, bullets were ineffective against them.
