2. Jamboree Ship (93rd Time) ── Act I

（０／24）

In hosting that game, two special considerations were made.

The first was that the timing for inviting players was heavily staggered. From the first person to the last, there was a gap of up to two weeks. Considering that normal games take a day at most, this was an unusually long period of time.

And the second was that even the name of the game itself was randomized. Aside from its true name, Jamboree Ship, fourteen different dummy names were prepared, and a different one was communicated to each player. Because of these two measures, the players—even those colluding in multiple-person groups like a Secret Meeting—could not realize that they were being invited to the same game.

This was the same method used during Candle Woods. What it signified was that this was a large-scale game. Invitations were sent to almost all active players.

Of course, to her as well.

 （１／24）

Airi woke up.

 （２／24）

She sat up and looked around.

It was a place that looked like a hotel room. A sofa, a table, a TV monitor, a painting hanging on the wall—furniture with little sign of use lined the room. Airi had been laid on a bed that was somewhat large for a single person.

There was only one window. It was fixed and circular. When she peeked at the scenery outside, there was neither the gray of an office district nor the green of a summer resort, but rather an endless expanse of blue stretching out before her—the open ocean.

"A ship..."

Airi murmured.

And quite a large one at that, it seemed. Was this what they called a cruise ship? Despite that, she felt no swaying—whether it was because of its massive size, the good location of her room, or because the stabilizers were doing an excellent job. She didn't know the specifics of how it worked. It was her first time riding a cruise ship in her life. She remembered that the shuttle boat during Cloudy Beach had rocked quite a bit.

Observing the ocean a little more, she could see a few ships slightly in the distance. All of them were accompanying this ship. She could also confirm one or two drones flying around, their camera lenses gleaming. Surveillance ships and drones—it was safe to assume that the Game had begun. Looking down at herself, she was wearing a sailor one-piece dress based in white and blue. A sailor uniform because it's the sea. How very cheap and straightforward, Airi thought.

With her dress skirt swaying as she walked, Airi left the room. The door had neither a physical key nor a card key—it seemed that because this was a game stage, locks could not be applied. The appearance of the hallway was, as expected, also that of a hotel. In the quiet space illuminated by pale lighting, doors with room numbers lined the left and right.

With no signs or anything to be found, Airi decided to just walk in whatever direction her feet took her for the time being. She didn't encounter anyone along the way and eventually came to a staircase. A map of the ship's interior was hanging on the wall. Wondering what floor this was, Airi peered at the map, but she couldn't find the character for floor on it to begin with. All there was, was deck. From the lowest Deck 4 to the highest Deck 17, there were fourteen levels. Airi was on Deck 12, which seemed to be a level entirely occupied by guest rooms.

Seeing that there appeared to be a large lounge one level up on Deck 13, Airi climbed the stairs. A gorgeous space illuminated by a chandelier welcomed her. It was something she had been feeling the whole time in her guest room and the hallway leading up to this point, but the interior decor was excessively lavish. It was completely that of a luxury facility. If not for the ocean visible through the large windows covering the entirety of the wall, one would never think they were on a ship.

The lounge was filled with the hustle and bustle of people. Besides Airi, there were many other players. Though the fine details differed, everyone was dressed in sailor uniforms, and they were spending their time however they pleased—chatting on sofas, drinking at the adjoining bar, or otherwise.

Among them, there was also a familiar face.

"Ah. If it isn't Airi-san."

The one who let out this carefree voice was Dokukinoko.

"You came, didn't you. Welcome to the Jamboree Ship."

"Hello..."

Airi realized as she returned the greeting.

"Jamboree Ship, you say?"

"Yes. It seems that is the true game name."

Dokukinoko answered while tilting the wine glass in her hand.

"Airi-san, what did you hear the game name was? Mine was Rainy Meadow."

"I believe it was Mystery Ruin."

It was something she noticed belatedly, but there was a discrepancy between the game name she had heard and the location. She couldn't feel anything resembling ruins or meadows from this ship.

"It seems we were taught dummy names. Because there are this many people, they must have been using cheap tricks."

Following Dokukinoko's head movement, Airi also looked around. There were so many players that they couldn't be counted at a single glance.

"How many people are here?"

"I think it was three hundred and fifty-eight as of last night. Every day, they are brought in little by little at midnight. Since the numbers are what they are, it seems they are staggering the days... Did you arrive today, Airi-san?"

"Yes. I just woke up a little while ago... Have you been here longer, Dokukinoko-san?"

"Yes, since three days ago. It seems the early ones have been here for a week. Every night at 9:00 PM, we are supposed to do a headcount in the lounge, so please attend when the time comes."

"Understood."

"Even so, it's three hundred and fifty-eight people. They really gathered a flashy number, didn't they. If I remember correctly, Candle Woods was around three hundred people? It's already surpassed that."

"It has..."

A comfortable new record. They say all records are meant to be broken—but she never thought a day like this would come. Given the nature of the murder game industry, gathering a solid number of people was difficult.

It's a little scary, she thought. Large-scale games are tricky. Not to mention Candle Woods where a killer went on a rampage and mostly wiped out the players, she had frequently encountered weird troubles on other occasions as well. In Airi's experience, games where the number of participants exceeded a hundred never ended peacefully. And rightly so. When a triple-digit number of young girls are gathered, something is bound to happen even if it isn't a murder game.

"What are the rules of the game?" Airi asked.

"Nah, nothing at all yet. The management staff are here and there, but they won't tell us. I suppose it means... not until everyone is gathered. What do you think, Airi-san?"

"Let's see... I don't think it will be a rule that's too elaborate. With it being this large-scale, preparing it must have cost money, so they should try to avoid strange risks. That said, since we are on the sea, it won't be an escape type. Will they make us do a treasure hunt, or perhaps a killer-repelling type game following in the footsteps of Candle Woods... Somewhere around there, I guess."

"Hmm, I see."

"Even if the rules are still unreleased, we can still use our imagination and prepare for various things, right? Are there any people doing that?"

"They are doing it under the feeling of leaving it to each person's discretion. Judging from the fact that the invitation dates are staggered, it probably won't be a rule where having preparations or not creates an extreme advantage or disadvantage, so many people are just honestly relaxing, while some are earnestly preparing. Takazo-san is doing things secretly in her room."

"Takazo-san? She's here too?"

"Eh? Ah, I haven't mentioned it yet, have I. She's here. Not just her, but most of the members of the Secret Meeting are probably here. Maya-san, Shirou-san, and, umm, what was their name, that trio. Someone from there should be here too."

Well, that's par for the course. With this many people, invitations would naturally go out to most existing players.

Then—is that person here too?

"This ship has various facilities available."

Dokukinoko said while turning her eyes toward the bar.

"A sports gym, a large public bath, a restaurant. There's even a place like a shopping mall. When it gets to this point, it's practically a city. To float something like this on the sea, human desire is truly tremendous, isn't it. Since you have the time, why not take a walk around?"

"You're right... I'll try doing that."

"See you later, then."

Waving at each other, she parted ways with Dokukinoko.

She didn't know what kind of game they would play, but keeping the stage in her head would be important. She would tour the inside of the ship once over, and if she bumped into members of the Secret Meeting, she'd at least greet them.

As a first step, Airi toured the lounge. She vaguely gazed at the bar taking up a large space in the center. Behind the gently curved counter, several staff members were working, and—

Among them, she found a familiar face once again.

"Ah."

"Oh my, Airi-san."

It was Airi's agent.

The first-generation one. She was wearing a vest and a bowtie, looking just like a bartender.

"Ahaha... It's been a while, hasn't it. Well, of course you'd be here. With this number of participants."

"Hello..."

Airi returned the greeting and sat in the seat right in front of her.

"Was the Project you mentioned previously this one?"

"Yes. Setting up the stage was my main duty, but since I have experience as a bartender, I ended up getting drafted for this."

Tahaha, the agent laughed.

"Where on earth did you prepare a ship like this from? You can't just float it on the sea without permission, right? You really do troublesome things..."

"Well, I worked fiercely hard on that part. It's a shame I can't talk about the details."

From both the agent's voice and expression, a sense of pride could be felt. It was that of a person who possessed passion for their work.

The agent placed a hand on her hip and gazed at the liquor shelves behind her.

"So, will you order something? We serve minors too."

 （３／24）

After settling a glass of oolong tea into her stomach, Airi walked around the inside of the ship.

According to the map, about half the space of the fourteen decks were guest rooms, and the rest seemed to be facilities for amusement. Just as Dokukinoko said, there were gyms, baths, and restaurants. And not just one—there were three gyms, five baths, and too many restaurants to count. There were also sprawling facilities like movie theaters and playhouses. On the upper deck where the sunlight poured in, there was even a pool equipped with a water slide. Whether you could call it the final fate of capitalism, or a feeling of decadence drifting about because it was too luxurious, anyway, it was a splendid commercial facility that wouldn't bring shame no matter where it was presented. Naturally, it didn't seem like all the facilities were operational, but even so, one would hardly have too much free time on their hands.

It seemed all the facilities could be used for free. Airi, who usually only ate two meals a day—lunch and dinner—was able to finish both at the restaurants on board, and after touring the ship once over, she was able to kill time at the constantly running theater.

In the blink of an eye, it was 9:00 PM, and Airi headed to the lounge. There, a much larger number of girls had gathered than in the morning. About half were relaxing freely like in the morning, but the other half were lined up in three rows. Dokukinoko had mentioned "doing a headcount," and figuring this was probably it, Airi also lined up.

Eventually, Airi's turn came. A pen and paper were placed on a pipe desk. She just needed to write her name on this, right?

"Good evening, Airi-san."

A voice called out to her.

The one keeping watch on the other side of the desk was Shirou.

"You had arrived, I see. Did you come today?"

Airi nodded.

"Then, your name on this roster. ...Dokukinoko-san! Could you take over for a bit?"

Shirou turned her head and spoke to Dokukinoko, who was playing with her hands in the back.

"Airi-san, over here. Let's talk a little..."

Led by Shirou, Airi moved to a place away from the group.

"Oh my, I'm truly grateful,"

Shirou's words contained her specialty tone of voice—the tone used when flattering someone.

"To have Airi-san on this side. It's reassuring. Truly sharp."

"Reassuring?" Airi replied. "You speak as if it's already decided we are allies. The rules are still unconfirmed, right?"

"Strictly speaking, yes, but we believe in nine cases out of ten, we are allies. If the players here were to fight each other, staggering the invitation dates would be unfair. The players who arrived earlier would have been able to make that much more preparation. Even assuming it's a competitive type, it's natural to think we are all on the same team. There's a sense of uniformity in our costumes too, right?"

Shirou pulled on the collar of her sailor uniform. Compared to Airi's one-piece dress, it had a stiffer design closer to a real marine uniform.

"To get straight to the point, we view it as a killer-repelling type game. From the management's perspective, that's the safe bet."

Killer-repelling type. Generally called an asymmetrical competitive game. It involved splitting into a small number of killers given equipment and a large number of survivors who were not, and fighting. Citing examples from Airi's experience, Candle Woods and Cloudy Beach fell under this category. Both were extremely troublesome games.

"Are you taking the lead of the group, Shirou-san?"

"Yes. There were more veteran individuals, but they weren't really inclined to do it... So, presumptuously, I stepped up. With your arrival, Airi-san, you become the most experienced person here, will you take over?"

"No," Airi shook her head. "It's not my style."

She was bad at management roles. She came from a family of commoners, after all.

More than that—. A part of the statement caught Airi's ear.

"That veteran, could it be Yuki-san? Is she here too?"

She didn't know Shirou's exact number of clears, but she remembered it was somewhere around forty. The only person more experienced than that would probably be her.

She expected that, but Shirou's face answered, No. This person's expression changed rapidly. The one right now was the face she made when a topic she had no interest in was brought up.

"Ah..."

Scratching her neck, Shirou said.

"Yuki-san, you mean. If it's her, she's no longer a problem."

"Eh...?"

"Haven't you heard from Dokukinoko-san? That she suffered terrible injuries. She replaced various parts of her whole body with prosthetics, transplanted every conceivable organ, and is somehow keeping herself together, or so they say. As a player, she's probably finished. It's a bleak story."

Surprise gradually spread in Airi's chest.

"She hasn't come to this ship. Whether she declined the invitation, or if she belongs to the killer side... Or perhaps she just quit being a player altogether. Since reaching ninety-nine clears is probably impossible."

There's no way, that—

It almost came out of her throat, but stopped there.

That was the true nature of this world. A murder game that haphazardly devoured life after life. One couldn't keep swimming forever. Even someone who seemed as invincible as her.

She wasn't a ghost. She was a living human being.

She got hurt, grew tired, and then died.

 （４／24）

The headcount was finished. Once it was understood that there were four hundred and twenty-two people in total and that there were no vacancies among the players who had arrived by yesterday, they were dismissed.

Many of the players headed to the decks occupied by guest rooms to go to sleep. Just like Airi this morning, everyone had woken up in one of the guest rooms when they arrived here, and they were supposed to just use their initial placement locations as they were.

However, Airi directed her feet not to her guest room, but to the upper deck. The upper deck—the highest part of the ship exposed to the outdoors, but its designation was Deck 15, and it was not the top floor. Various buildings were set up on the deck as well, and the second and third floor sections of those received the names Deck 16 and 17. In nautical terminology, buildings like this are called superstructures. Airi stepped into one of them and climbed the stairs.

Deck 17. It was the location that corresponded to the genuine top of this ship, and one could command a panoramic view of the surrounding sea. Resting her weight on the handrail, Airi fell into thought. Lights attached to the side of the ship were illuminating the surface of the sea, and she spent time blankly gazing at the ship's churning waves that were barely visible.

Somehow, it was hard to digest.

She still couldn't quite accept it. The matter regarding Yuki.

She had asked Dokukinoko about it afterward, but it seemed there was no mistaking the facts. Dokukinoko happened to be present in the game where Yuki was on the verge of death, and furthermore, she was the daughter of a prosthetic artisan, putting her in a position to directly find out her prognosis. This wasn't a story on the level of a mere rumor. She had no choice but to admit it was the truth.

To think that person would mess up. She firmly believed that she would make it all the way to ninety-nine clears. Would she no longer be able to meet her as a player? That person possessed something Airi didn't have. If she was going to quit, couldn't she share a little bit of it with her—

While she was thinking about such useless things, Airi heard footsteps.

Someone was coming here. It was hard to imagine it being an enemy, but the possibility wasn't zero. Airi tensed up and stared at the entrance of the stairs.

The person who eventually showed herself was, of course, not Yuki or anyone like that.

But, it was a face she knew. It was a player with a huge body like a bear. She was wearing a long-sleeved, long-pants marine uniform, but it suited her well due to her physique and tall stature.

"Maguma-san."

Airi murmured her name.

Maguma seemed to have noticed her too and gave a light wave. Waving back, Airi ran over to her.

"It's been a while, Maguma-san," Airi said.

"Yeah," Maguma answered in an unsociable tone.

"You were here, I see. I don't think I caught sight of you in the lounge..."

Airi looked up at Maguma's face. Since her height was nearly two meters, it naturally ended up like that when talking to her. She thought she wouldn't miss it if someone this huge was there.

"I bet," Maguma said.

"Because I didn't go to the lounge. I get seasick when there are too many people, so I'm passing on the nightly roll call. Even if I don't take the trouble to go there myself, in my case, someone else will report it on my behalf. I stand out with this build, after all."

This person is being selfish again, Airi thought. Her individualistic temper seemed to remain unchanged.

The veteran Shirou had mentioned seemed to refer to this person. She didn't know how many clears she was currently on, but it should be at least more than Shirou.

"You haven't kicked the bucket yet, huh. What number is this for you?"

"My ninety-fifth."

She answered honestly. Usually, she faked it around her fifteenth to avoid standing out unnecessarily, but doing that with an acquaintance was pointless.

"How's your body? Is it in perfect condition?"

"Yes, no breakdowns in particular. My toes won't grow back, though..."

While speaking, she dropped her gaze to both of her feet. Both the left and right were wearing cute loafers. The ten toes housed inside them were not all her natural ones. She suffered frostbite during her thirtieth game and replaced them with prosthetics. Maguma was also in that same game, so she knew about it too. Even for parts that seemed trivial like toes, the benefits gained by supplementing them with prosthetics were immensely large. The way they gripped the ground was completely different.

"At this rate, won't you reach ninety-nine clears before that Yuki does?"

"Ah... About Yuki-san, did you hear? That she got badly injured."

"So it seems. I've heard the rumors."

"Some people even say she might have quit. That's why she's not on the ship."

"I don't think so. It's either she just hasn't arrived yet, or the invitation didn't reach her... Or, she might be in the Killer faction. If so, that's the worst-case scenario."

Airi shared the same opinion on that. She might be injured, but that didn't mean they could consider her an easy opponent. Regarding that person, she felt it wasn't a matter of being strong or weak. There was probably no one else she'd less want to imagine turning into an enemy.

For a while, there was silence. There was a time when only the sound of the waves drifted in the vicinity. After passing through that, Maguma opened her mouth, "...You."

"Why are you playing as a player?"

"Eh?"

"Come to think of it, I've never asked. Why is it?"

Faintly, Airi had started to think, Something is strange. Today, Maguma was excessively bringing up topics. She wasn't supposed to be such a sociable person. She was supposed to be a person where it became awkward if you didn't constantly pay attention and keep the conversation flowing for her—.

"I don't have anything that could really be called a reason, though," Airi answered.

"If I had to say, it's because I have an interest in this world, I guess... Ah, but right now, I'm aiming for ninety-nine clears because I was urged by a person named Shirou. If you'd call that a reason, then it's a reason, perhaps."

Showing a slight reaction to Shirou's name, Maguma said.

"I'm somewhat similar. I don't have a particular reason either. I got dragged into a Game one day, and since it suited my nature more than expected, I just kept going. I'm not aiming for ninety-nine clears like that guy. I wouldn't mind quitting."

"Are you going to quit?"

Feeling that kind of context, Airi tried asking.

There was no immediate answer. Maguma stared at her own right hand, clenching and unclenching it, before saying,

"I'm thinking it's about time to call it quits."

"The physical fatigue, you see, it seems it's already quite bad. According to the doctor, if I keep playing games like this, it wouldn't be strange if I become involuntary at any time."

"My..."

Through the human body modification, the Preservation Treatment, administered without exception to all players, most injuries could be repaired, but that by no means meant complete healing. Even if it looked healed on the surface, the cells were rotting, the tissues were broken, and the order was in disarray. With every wound they bore, they drew one square closer to ruin.

"I still don't have any subjective symptoms, though... I have no intention of pushing myself to continue, and I plan on saying farewell soon. That's right, since I got to meet you too, I suppose I'll make this my last."

"After you quit, what are you going to do?"

"I'm thinking of getting a job somewhere. I don't know if there are any openings in this day and age, though."

It was an incredibly unexpected answer.

"Unexpected," Airi voiced out just like that.

"Even though you don't seem like the type of person who would want to place themselves in an organization."

"That is exactly why. I can't pretend to be a lone wolf forever. I should grow up and act my age..."

It seemed that was what she wanted to talk about, as Maguma turned her back to Airi and started walking toward the stairs.

"Later."

She left behind those blunt words.

 （５／24）

Returning to her guest room, Airi went to sleep.

Since the door wouldn't lock, she blocked it by propping the bed frame against it. The window was fixed to begin with, and there was no foothold outside, so she figured the danger of an intrusion was low. Aside from drawing the curtains, she did no particular tricks and simply laid the mattress directly on the floor and slept on it. Being in the middle of a game, she naturally kept a corner of her mind tense, but fortunately, nothing dangerous occurred, and Airi was able to welcome the next morning.

When she headed to the lounge just like yesterday, it was filled with an unsettling atmosphere. Many girls, with anxious faces, were letting out an anxious stir. Airi searched for a familiar face—she spotted Takazo, a member of the Secret Meeting with a wicked face, so she promptly greeted her. "Good morning."

"Ah, Airi-chan. Hullo."

"What happened here?" she said while looking around.

"It seems the staff are gone. From everything."

Airi looked toward the bar counter. Over there, where the first-generation agent had been working in her vest yesterday, there was no one in sight.

"Right now, the players are splitting up and looking around the inside of the ship. The idea is that if anyone is left somewhere, we'll catch them and squeeze the circumstances out of them, but... there's rather little hope for that."

"They slipped out of the ship during the night, you mean?"

"I'd say so. According to the girl doing the watch, she saw a transport ship connect to this ship. However, no new players were brought in. It was the other way around, they left."

"Did she see them leaving?"

"No, it seems she didn't see it directly. The passageway bridging the ships together was covered with something like a canvas roof, so she said she couldn't tell who was coming and going. Because the area near the entrance is strictly off-limits, it's impossible to see from inside the ship too."

Airi remembered the time she explored this ship yesterday. The area near the entrance was a space dedicated for staff, and players were not permitted to enter. During the night, the staff would withdraw there and take their rest.

"But, since no players were being brought in, you'd think Something's strange, right? By the time the lookout girl noticed the anomaly and reported it to Boss Shirou, it was 5:00 AM. From there, they gathered personnel and it's been a frantic, massive search."

"I see..."

Looking at the clock hanging on a nearby wall, it was six-thirty. It was a slightly early wake-up time for the usual Airi. It seemed she had unconsciously picked up on the commotion inside the ship and woken up early.

"Well then, I wonder what will happen," Takazo said.

"Is it finally the start of the game, I wonder? Did they retreat so as not to get dragged into the impending turmoil... Or are they coming back carrying weapons?"

"I heard from Dokukinoko-san that you were making preparations for the game getting into full swing, Takazo-san," Airi tried asking.

"Well, yeah. I tried throwing together some improvised weapons from the things around here. I lectured about processing natural materials before, but it's not like I'm obsessed with being organic. If there are artificial objects, I'll happily use them. If it looks like a fight is going to break out, I'll share how to make them."

If we are allies, that is—.

With her usual deliberately villainous tone, Takazo concluded it like that.

At that moment, a trio of players ran into the lounge. The small girl at the very front shouted in a voice that carried well, "Everyone!"

"To the upper deck! Please come! Helicopters are heading this way!"

 （６／24）

Although they were addressed as "Everyone", there was little need for all two hundred people in the lounge to go look. In addition to the trio who came to report, a small number of people, including Airi and the members of the Secret Meeting, went out to the upper deck.

As Airi looked up at the sky while feeling the cool early morning wind, she could indeed recognize the presence of objects there that were probably not birds. They were helicopters with plump bodies, equipped with blades at the head and tail.

And three of them at that. Their figures were gradually growing larger. They were approaching this ship.

"I've seen those helis in a previous game."

The one who murmured that was a tall, slender player.

Maya, a member of the Secret Meeting. She was a person in an intimate relationship with Shirou.

"They were used to transport players."

"Then, it's safe to assume they are related to the game," Shirou said. "And we should probably view them as enemies. If they were transporting players or supplies, they could just use ships like they've done so far. There must be a special meaning to them taking the trouble to change the method."

"They've already gotten quite close."

The one who said that was Dokukinoko. Extending one arm toward the aircraft, she was changing the shape of her hand in various ways. She was probably measuring the distance.

"In terms of distance, it's less than five kilometers. In a few minutes, the helis will arrive, and those enemies will descend onto the deck. Depending on the type of guns, it's a range where bullets will start reaching us, so it would be better for us to retreat early."

And so, things proceeded that way. The girls hurried back inside the ship.

While running and moving down the hallway, Shirou asked Takazo who was beside her.

"Takazo-san. You have your preparations ready, correct?"

"Yeah. Should I set them up?"

"Please do. In the locations we discussed beforehand."

"Got it. Dokukinoko, Maya-chan, there's no time, so lend me a hand."

"Sure thing."

"Don't give me orders."

Dokukinoko answered obediently, Maya unwillingly, and the trio parted ways with Shirou and the others.

"Are you setting up traps or something?" Airi asked.

"Yes. Assuming an attack from the Killers, we established countermeasures for both the sky and the sea. In five minutes, all routes leading to the center of the ship will be blocked, completing a splendid defensive formation."

Descending the stairs at explosive speed, Airi and the others returned to the lounge.

Shirou clapped her hands strongly twice to gather the girls' attention, then said in a resonant voice.

"Now then, everyone! It's time to work!"

 （７／24）

The three helicopters hovered in the air.

 （８／24）

All three of them had plump frames. Their total length reached close to thirty meters. Because there was no flat floor surface on the upper deck capable of receiving those bodies, they had no choice but to drop ropes and descend.

There were sixteen players riding in each aircraft. The total of forty-eight players descended from the helis one after another—because they had received training on descending by rope beforehand, there was no hesitation in their movements.

What they were wearing on their bodies were sailor uniforms, the same as the four hundred and twenty-two players of the Survivor faction. However, these were colored black, so there would be no problem distinguishing between the factions.

There was no one directly underneath the three helis. Therefore, without taking any attacks along the way, and without the contents of their skirts being peeked at, the forty-eight people were able to plant both feet on the deck. Without discussing things like "That went well" or "What should we do now?", the girls moved silently. First, they untied the cords of the relief supplies dropped in advance, and each hugged an assault rifle about the weight of a newborn baby in both hands, strapped pouches containing sidearm handguns, ammunition, grenades, and such to their waists, and carried mini-bags summarizing various small items on their backs.

There was no hesitation in their subsequent movements either. The sixteen people who had ridden in each heli remained as three teams as they were, and headed toward exactly three entrances leading from the upper deck to the inside of the ship. It was a flow they had arranged beforehand—the players of the Killer faction had been given time to prepare prior to the game. At that time, they were also shown a floor plan of the ship, and they had already finished discussing how they were going to attack.

The players advanced through stairs and hallways. Takeda, one of the people in one of the three teams, had a grim look on her face regarding the battle that lay in wait from here on out. According to what she heard beforehand, there were four hundred and twenty-two enemies. It was a considerably large-scale game. Most likely, invitations had gone out to almost all existing players. The other members of the Secret Meeting must also be participating as enemies.

Shirou, Dokukinoko, Takazo—. Any of them was a troublesome opponent. If it could be helped, she wished they were allies. Being assigned to this faction was bad luck. That being said, it wasn't like there were no reassuring people on this side either, and the know-how of the Secret Meeting was also ingrained in Takeda's body. They shouldn't be opponents she couldn't match. Even if they were members of the same group, a match is a match. If she met them directly, she'd do it without holding grudges—.

Just as Takeda steeled her resolve.

The sixteen players ran into a corner of the hallway.

From the other side, a fierce blast of flames blew in.

 （９／24）

Takeda regained consciousness.

When she noticed, she was collapsed on the floor. Her whole body hurt intensely. It was hot. She was burned.

What, what happened—? Takeda tried to sit up, but her body wouldn't move properly. The burns had reached deep, perhaps the proteins in her muscles had denatured from the heat.

When she finally managed to turn her head to the side, a landscape of hell welcomed Takeda. Flames were rising all over the hallway, and the white fluff of the Preservation Treatment was scattered about. She could also see the figures of players other than Takeda. Not a single person was standing; all of them were crouching on the floor, letting out painful groans. Groaning was a blessing. Because it meant they were at least alive. There were also players seen completely limp and unmoving—some had fainted like Takeda just now, while others were probably dead.

The last landscape revived in the back of Takeda's mind. That was definitely an explosion. Did someone accidentally pull the pin of a grenade? No, the blast wave came from the other side of the passageway. The epicenter should also be in that direction, which meant it was a trap set by the enemy. But, how? They shouldn't have been given weapons over there, and it was too early to think they had captured ours.

Just as she was failing to grasp the situation, white smoke drifted over along with a hissing sound. Thinking it was a follow-up attack, Takeda braced herself, but it was completely different. The smoke wasn't hot, and the surrounding fires were rapidly extinguished. It was the spray of a fire extinguisher.

Once the extinguishing was mostly done, some footsteps and voices talking could be heard.

"Wow, amazing."

"We did it pretty flashily, huh."

"There might still be people who can move, so please be careful~"

It was a carefree tone like that. Not knowing how others felt.

"...Oh my, isn't it Takeda-san?"

That voice rained down from above her head.

Then, a familiar face entered her field of vision. A member of the Secret Meeting, Dokukinoko.

"You were in that faction. Well, sorry about this, turning into comrade killing. But it's a game, so please, no hard feelings."

Saying that cheerfully, Dokukinoko began to scavenge Takeda's equipment. Handgun, ammo, mini-bag, and the rifle rolling nearby were all taken. Dokukinoko inspected them all and said, "Yeah, looks relatively intact. I'll be taking this."

A gunshot rang out nearby. Takeda couldn't see who was shot, but judging from the lack of a scream, it was probably someone already in a groggy state. That is, one of Takeda's group. Did they try to resist and get the tables turned on them?

"It's a bit late for this after blowing you up, but Takeda-san and the others are enemies, right?" Dokukinoko pulled the slide of the handgun. "To tell you the truth, we haven't grasped the rules yet. So there's been talk of keeping one person alive and bringing them in for interrogation, but..."

That slot, give it to me! For the sake of our fellowship, make it me—!

She wanted to say that, but her throat was burnt and no voice came out.

"But, being unable to bear seeing an acquaintance tortured, you see. I'll make it a different person here."

 （10／24）

Airi and Takazo were on standby in the hallway.

 （11／24）

A passageway leading from the upper deck into the ship—one of them.

There were no branching paths along the way. If the enemy were to enter the ship from this route, they would definitely pass through here.

Airi peeked her head out from the corner of the hallway and stared ahead. There was another corner about fifteen meters away, but there was something sitting casually nearby. It was a cardboard box. What's more, it was floating slightly off the floor. Because a can of mackerel was placed underneath it. Two conducting wires protruded from the can, stretching steadily down the hallway, connected to a switch at Takazo's hand. It was in a state where an electric current could be run through it at any time.

"The explosion won't reach this far, will it?"

Airi asked Takazo in a soft voice.

"It shouldn't," Takazo answered. "Don't know what'll happen if the explosives are feeling too good, though."

"That's so irresponsible."

"I~t's fiiiine. Ventilation is properly secured, and we have fire extinguishers prepared like this."

Takazo patted the belly of the fire extinguisher placed nearby.

"When it comes to handy and high-power weapons, it comes down to poison gas, bombs, and the like. Guns and cannonballs need to be accurately fired, but a bomb just needs to be ruptured. Nowadays it's become quite difficult to get your hands on nitric acid compounds, but it's not impossible. Detonators can be made relatively easily using a lightbulb filament. As for the dust to scatter... if we follow tradition and formality, wheat flour would be good, but there was a massive amount of cornstarch in the cafeteria, so I went with that. Apparently, the particles are finer here and blend into the air better."

"You speak as if you're cooking a meal..."

"Because they say cooking is chemistry, you know. Maybe it's natural for chemistry talk to approach cooking conversely?"

Kakaka, Takazo laughed with a deliberate show of villainy.

At that moment, multiple footsteps could be heard from afar. The enemy had come. Withdrawing her playful expression from just now, Takazo gained a sharp gaze truly like that of a hawk. She was probably straining her ears to the footsteps—to deal maximum damage, accurately measuring the opponent's whereabouts was important. Following her example, Airi also listened to the footsteps.

Eventually, when Takazo pressed the switch, Airi thought Isn't it a little early?, but it seemed it didn't activate immediately upon pressing. The bomb maintained silence for a few seconds, and right at the timing when the boot of the enemy at the very front leaped out from the corner of the hallway,

Boom, it burst.

Just as Takazo had said, the blast of flames did not reach this far.

Wind blew in from the opposite direction of the explosion. Probably because oxygen was fiercely consumed and the air pressure dropped.

"Well, shall we go?"

Shouldering the fire extinguisher, Takazo said.

"There might be survivors, so be careful."

Airi nodded and picked up her own fire extinguisher.

Running toward the epicenter, Airi spoke to Takazo. "I saw it for the first time in my life. A dust explosion."

"Is that so. How was it? Your impressions of seeing it for the first time."

"It's surprisingly simple... I thought it was a much rarer phenomenon."

"It's certainly rare for it to occur as an accident, but if you aim for it, you can cause it relatively stably. It's even been utilized as a weapon, so its reliability is quite high, I'd say."

Takazo aimed the nozzle of the fire extinguisher at the fire and pulled the lever. White smoke instantly filled the hallway.

 （12／24）

Swoosh.

The player walking in front of Umesada prompted them to stop with a hand gesture.

 （13／24）

Umesada asked.

"What's wrong? Yuki-san."

"............"

She did not answer.

She merely looked silently in their direction. She looked at the fifteen girls, including Umesada. A white eyepatch was attached to her right eye—not a game costume, but likely something originally hers. Did she lose her right eye?

It was Umesada's first time meeting her. When she joined the Secret Meeting, she had heard stories about her, but—. This master, for whom this was apparently her ninety-third time, served as the leader of Umesada's forty-eight members, and the same was true for this team of sixteen. Naturally, she stood at the front, bravely advancing down the hallway with a rifle in hand—until a few seconds ago.

Yuki turned her head back and stared at the corner of the hallway about ten meters ahead.

"Smells fishy," she said in a small voice.

"Seems like something's there. Let's poke at it a bit."

Making a gesture of throwing something, Yuki asked Umesada and the others.

"Is there anyone among here who has confidence in their throwing control?"

After a few seconds, a hand was raised. "I was in the handball club in high school," that girl said.

"Alright. Then, throw a grenade beyond the corner."

She had her do just that. Yuki and the others hid themselves in a nearby room, the girl from the handball club threw the grenade, and

Kaboom, it ruptured.

That was all. There was no scream from anyone. It didn't seem like soldiers were lying face down in the shadows.

However, when they fearfully checked beyond the corner, white powder was overflowing from a chopped-up cardboard box. Its texture was different from wheat flour. Powdered sugar, or perhaps something else?

"So they were plotting this."

Kicking the cardboard box away with her foot, Yuki said.

"Probably an improvised bomb. If we had kept going like that, we would have been caught all at once."

A conducting wire stretched from the bomb. They would probably run electricity through it to detonate it. The wire crawled along the hallway, continuing beyond the next corner.

Umesada and the others ran down the hallway. When they secured safety by throwing in a grenade just like before and turned the corner, there was no one in sight. A switch lacking a person to operate it was merely left abandoned. They had sensed the movements of Umesada's group and retreated, it seemed.

There were stairs right nearby. When Umesada and the others stepped in, smoke drifted up from the floor below along with a hissing sound. A smokescreen—it didn't seem to be. Judging by it, it was a fire extinguisher. The calculation seemed to be to use the item they brought for the post-processing of the bomb as a blinder.

Paying it no mind, they descended the stairs. Past the landing, the remaining half—just as Yuki set foot on the stairs filled with the smoke of the fire extinguisher,

Something flew out of the smoke at high speed.

Yuki, who was at the front, and Umesada, who was second, barely managed to dodge their bodies out of the way.

But the third person behind them—was her name Koriyama, perhaps—failed. She took a mysterious flying object to the face and collapsed. Having no leeway to be anxious about her condition, Umesada and the others turned back the way they came in a great panic.

Once they returned to an area they considered safe, Umesada and the others looked again at Koriyama, who was collapsed on the landing. She wasn't twitching at all, and she was probably already dead. Poor thing, her face was crushed—something with a smooth metallic conical shape was deeply pierced around her forehead.

"What is that," Yuki murmured.

"Isn't it the lid of a cassette gas cylinder?" Umesada answered. "Or maybe a spray can. Perhaps they intentionally heated it up and made it explode. The welded part of the lid has the lowest strength, so only that part flies off like a bullet. Fatal accidents have often occurred from it..."

"I see. Another improvised weapon, huh."

They heard that the players of the Survivor faction were gradually gathered over the course of about a week. The rules weren't conveyed to them, but they probably anticipated a killer-repelling type game and established countermeasures. The opponent's preparations were more thorough than expected.

"Seems a little tough," Yuki said.

"Let's return to the deck. At this rate, it's probably already—"

 （14／24）

Deck 13, sitting in a chair in the lounge.

Things are going smoothly, Shirou thought.

 （15／24）

There were about fifty players in the lounge.

The other girls were waiting at various places inside the ship. Not to mention the three routes infiltrating the ship from the upper deck, other anticipated routes were also secured.

This lounge, located close to the upper deck, served a role as a frontline base, so to speak. Naturally, Shirou was the commander, plopping her body heavily into a chair to give and receive various reports.

Now then, so far the good news continued. She had received word that the enemy had already been annihilated in two of the three routes. They were also accompanied by a massive amount of weapons and two prisoners of war. Both of these prisoners were people who could be reasoned with, and they spat out information through the simple method of having captured guns thrust at them. As anticipated, the game rules seemed to be a killer-repelling type. The time limit was one week. The game would be cleared by killing one hundred and forty or more players of the Survivor faction to which Shirou and the others belonged. The opposing faction apparently included Takeda from the Secret Meeting, Umesada, and Yuki as well—it seemed she hadn't quit after all.

"Shirou-san."

Someone ran over while calling her name.

It was Oshima. One of the players who had been guarding the remaining one route.

"Ah, Oshima-san. How did it go?" Shirou asked.

"About that..."

Somehow, the enemy had seemingly retreated back to the deck. The defense wasn't broken, but they weren't able to bring down even a single opponent, she reported.

The third route was the place where Umesada and Yuki were. Although her body had declined, her judgment was alive and well, it seemed—.

"What should we do?"

"Let me see... I don't want to give them too much time to think. This time, we will attack from our side."

Shirou stood up from her chair. She gave instructions to several players nearby who were working on trap production. "Excuse me,"

"Could you play messenger for a bit?"

 （16／24）

Deck 14, at the bottom of the stairs.

Maguma and Maya were lying in wait for the enemy.

 （17／24）

One of the three routes.

Of course, they weren't defending it with just these two people. About thirty people were deployed on each of all the routes, taking various defensive measures. The ones placed at the very front lines were these two.

Maguma looked up at the stairs leading to Deck 15—that is, the upper deck. The fire extinguisher smokescreen they had scattered earlier had cleared long ago, but there was no one in sight. Quite some time had passed since the enemy retreated, but there was no sign of a renewed attack.

"No news, huh."

Maguma tried speaking to Maya.

"Did they go to the other routes, or are they holding a strategy meeting..."

Maya did not answer. She didn't even send a glance this way.

"Hey, how about at least chiming in."

Maguma nudged Maya's shoulder. Finally going that far, with a disgusted face like that of a part-timer at a ramen shop having an order put in right before their lunch break,

"Why are you here," she said.

"You're an individualist, right. Go do something alone."

"It's the leader's order," Maguma answered. "That person's an acquaintance of yours, right. If you have complaints, say them to her."

Ordered by Shirou, Maguma was waiting here. She had declined joining the Secret Meeting, and she felt something disagreeable from the human known as Shirou, but she wasn't unwilling to cooperate in order to win.

In particular, the Maguma of late was making an effort to become at least a little sociable. She was Maguma, who had diligently continued to avoid groups due to her bitter experiences during her Red Bear era, but she was also getting completely tired of that kind of misanthropic attitude.

You can't remain the same forever. Anyone, everyone—.

Footsteps could be heard from the stairs leading below. Along with the rhythmic clack, clack sounds of shoes, the person who gradually showed herself starting from her head was Oshima. The one sent out on an errand to report had returned.

Furthermore, she was accompanied by a large number of players in the rear. Eight people in total. Maguma couldn't recall a single one of their names, but she felt like one or two had faces she recognized. They were probably some of the players deployed in the rear.

"Good work," Oshima said.

"Yeah," Maya answered. "So, what did she say to do?"

"Head to the upper deck, she said. The enemy has withdrawn to the deck and is formulating a strategy. Therefore, we will attack from our side this time."

Oshima handed the things she had been holding in both arms to Maguma and the others. —Assault rifles.

"These are captured equipment. Please use them. ...Including the two of you, there are eleven people dispatched from this route, but roughly the same number are being sent from the other routes as well, thirty people in total. There are sixteen on the other side, so it's almost double, but..."

Handing small equipment like holstered handguns and grenades to Maguma and the others in addition to the rifles, Oshima said.

"We heard that Yuki is on the other side. A master with over eighty clears. She sustained major injuries and has physically declined, but her other abilities should be alive and well. Please be careful."

That guy was there, Maguma thought. No wonder they couldn't be easily controlled.

The rules of the game had already been reported to Maguma and the others as well. Murdering one hundred and forty or more people within one week—there would be no means of appeasement. It was either kill or be killed.

The act of going to kill Yuki from here on out—Maguma felt not the slightest hesitation towards it. She had killed acquaintances countless times. It was the destiny of the game's world. There was no objecting to it at this point. She merely thought, the time has finally come.

Together with the other players, Maguma readied her gun and climbed the stairs. Running down the hallway of Deck 15, right when they came near the exit where light from the deck was pouring in,

"Wait,"

Maguma said.

"We're being targeted."

"From where?" Maya furrowed her brows.

"Don't know. But, bloodlust is drifting in. I thought you'd be able to read at least that much. Hmm?"

Maya distorted her face. This girl's frustrated face is good for my health, Maguma thought.

Maguma hoisted the fire extinguisher she had been carrying on her back forward and filled the area to the brim with smoke. Concealing their figures, they resumed their advance.

Then, the sound of gunfire could be heard from afar. Full-auto rapid fire. The girls began to stir.

"It's a diversion, a diversion! Don't be scared."

Maguma said imposingly, continuing to scatter smoke.

Eventually, Maguma and the others emerged onto the upper deck. In this open space, it was difficult to continue scattering sufficient smoke. The rest would just have to be managed by everyone's individual efforts. Maguma threw away the fire extinguisher and tried hiding behind a pillar standing nearby. The other girls also chose hiding spots respectively. When the gunfire stopped, not a single one of the eleven girls was collapsed—at any rate, they had successfully entered.

Maguma peeked her face out from the pillar for a single instant and burned the scenery of the upper deck into her eyes.

On Deck 15—that is, the upper deck, a large pool was set up in the middle. Taking the trouble to build a reservoir on top of the sea was a luxurious thing. Around the pool, numerous items that could serve as cover were seen, such as splendidly built beach chairs, marble objects, and colorful flower beds. Moving while protecting oneself wouldn't be that difficult.

However, where to go? Where was the enemy hiding?

—Should I bait them here.

Maguma decided so. Glaring sharply at another pillar a few meters away,

She dashed forward fiercely.

Midway through, she felt a sharp bloodlust.

Maguma curled her body on the spot and rolled sideways. Gunshots rang out in quick succession—however, not a single shot hit. While correcting her posture, Maguma directed her face diagonally upwards, and beyond her line of sight was Deck 17—the roof of the superstructure where she had talked with Airi last night. Beyond the handrails set up to prevent falls, she was able to find three girls in black sailor uniforms holding guns.

One familiar face was also mixed in.

Yuki.

Maguma pointed her gun.

But, as expected, she was something else, and quickly retreated back. Spewing flashes, gunsmoke, and empty cartridges, Maguma's gun let loose a full-auto volley that reached the roof, hitting the two girls who were late to retreat. They collapsed while scattering white fluff.

And then—Maguma dove into the shadow of the pillar.

Phew, she let out a light breath.

That's one step done. Hooked them beautifully. She wasn't able to finish her off, but she also confirmed that Yuki was there. She only saw three people, but several others—perhaps all sixteen of them, must be holed up there. The next target for advance was decided.

The Maguma of late was already capable of executing these kinds of stunts. Accurately reading even the direction of the ambiguous thing known as bloodlust, dodging gunfire as if it were nothing, and firing back with unrivaled precision. Almost no thought was required for the series of actions. It felt something like riding a bicycle. She didn't even need to think about what to do to survive, or how to defeat the enemy, her body just moved.

Though, that was probably the same for that Yuki too.

It's going to be a troublesome fight, Maguma steeled herself. To think that it would turn out like this at the very, very end, when she was thinking of quitting this time—. What a strange coincidence. Is this what they call an inseparable bond?

Very well. I'll sever one last thing at the end.

（18／24）

Airi advanced smoothly across the upper deck.

（19／24）

Crouching down, she ran with quick, light steps. It was a footwork excellent for both defense and offense, allowing her to move quickly while keeping her target small. Before long, she dove into a safe zone—behind a flower bed—and looked back.

Takami and the others were in the distance. They were the attack team selected from Airi's route. Their number was nine. Ten, if Airi was included.

Airi sent a hand sign toward Takami and the others.

Don't dawdle. Come quickly.

However, a reply came back from Takami: Don't ask for the impossible.

This wasn't a simple gesture. It was a code developed by Dokukinoko. It was close to sign language, an excellent system that allowed for communication almost identical to normal conversation. Though, in this case, even without going out of their way to use it, the expressions on Takami and the others' faces sufficiently conveyed that it was impossible.

Airi and her group were aiming for the superstructure. They had confirmed the figures of the Killer faction, including Yuki, on Deck 17, and were heading to attack them, but—perhaps due to the pressure of constantly being targeted from a high place, the movements of the nine others besides Airi were sluggish. Airi could only sigh. Setting aside the other players, to think even Takami was flinching. She had an old-person-like thought: players these days have gone soft.

Well, fine. It wasn't as if having numbers was everything. I will do this properly, even if it's just me. Pulling herself together, Airi advanced across the deck. She moved, weaving from cover to cover, and reached the superstructure. Looking up while resting her back against the outer wall, thick eaves jutted out, and there seemed to be no worry of being shot from the roof.

Airi moved along the wall surface, heading toward the entrance—

And then.

From the opposite direction of Airi, there was a person approaching the entrance.

"Yo,"

Maguma said.

"It's been since yesterday. You haven't kicked the bucket, huh."

"Hello..."

Airi returned the greeting in a low voice. Maguma couldn't use that code, so they had no choice but to speak normally.

"Was it you who shot the people on the roof earlier, Maguma-san?"

"Yeah. I exposed myself on purpose to bait an attack. ...By the way, are you alone?"

"Yes. The others are a bit delayed."

"It's a similar story on my end."

"Shall we wait?"

"No. It's a pain, let's just go in."

Saying this, Maguma pulled the pin of a grenade. With a snap of her wrist, she tossed it into the building and covered her ears with both hands. Airi also temporarily placed her gun on the floor and did the same.

After hearing the muffled sound of the explosion that passed through the backs and palms of their hands, Airi and Maguma moved. Stepping into the completely trashed entrance, there was no sign of the enemy. There was no one standing, nor anyone collapsed.

The floor map beside the entrance was also destroyed and completely illegible, but since they had come here last night, the layout was memorized in their heads. The first-floor section—integrated into Deck 15 on the map, the same as the upper deck—was an area lined with partitioned spaces reminiscent of a commercial facility or an underground mall at a station. Perhaps it was originally a place selling souvenirs and the like, but the shutters of every section were down, rendering them non-functional.

Airi and Maguma navigated through the passageway, flanked on the left and right by shutters. At this time, half of what occupied Airi's mind was caution towards the enemy, and the other half was a trivial thought about why shutters made a person's heart feel so desolate.

"Earlier, I took a shot at that Yuki, but..." Maguma spoke up.

"It was no good. I managed to get the other two who showed their faces, but she pulled back. Just because we have guns doesn't mean it'll go easily."

"That's the same for our side, isn't it? That applies to all three of us."

"What to do? Looks like it's going to be a troublesome fight."

"There is no 'what to do,' we just have to do it normally. Let's see this trouble through to the end."

"I see. Typical of you."

Airi and Maguma finished touring the first floor without encountering any enemies. They climbed the stairs and headed to the second floor. The second-floor section—namely Deck 16—was almost entirely a food court. The sunlight pouring in from the spacious panoramic windows was caught by numerous tables and chairs, casting shadows. It was probably designed with the intention of enjoying an elegant meal while gazing out at the vast ocean—but this facility, too, was already completely empty as of yesterday.

Right near the top of the stairs, in front of the double doors that served as the entrance to the food court, Airi and Maguma came to a halt. They didn't stride around unreservedly like they did on the first floor. With grim expressions, they surveyed the entire floor through the doors that had already been left wide open.

Visually, there was no one in sight.

However, they knew. They were hiding here.

（20／24）

What is this sensation? Airi wondered.

Calling it reading a presence sounded like something out of a manga, but there had to be some actual underlying principle. A subtle difference in oxygen concentration, temperature, or perhaps sniffing out breathing—. Airi couldn't explain the mechanism either, but this wasn't a special ability unique to her. Starting with Maguma beside her, most experienced players could likely pull it off. The time it took to awaken varied from person to person, but anyone immersed in the world of the game would become able to do it. It was surely a power innate to humanity from the start. The potential carved into their genes from the time Homo sapiens timidly gathered and hunted in the forests.

How many enemies were there? She couldn't tell that much. But, probably multiple people, and Yuki should be among them. If I were in her position, that's what I would do. She didn't know if they were aware of Airi's presence, but they definitely had a grasp on Maguma, who had apparently exposed herself on purpose. To intercept them, they would undoubtedly make thorough preparations. There was no place inside the building more labyrinthine than this food court. If they were going to do it, this was the optimal spot.

Airi pushed her imagination further—If I were Yuki-san, how would I defeat Maguma? Just as she aptly stated, mere firearms were not a decisive military force. They only fly straight, and their destructive power isn't all that massive. As long as you learn how to dodge, it's a relatively simple attack. Yuki must be fully aware of that as well.

If so, Yuki would likely scheme a multi-directional attack. Using multiple people to snipe simultaneously from scattered directions. To defeat players of Airi or Maguma's caliber, you would want four or more people. That, in turn, severely limited the opponent's formation. Whether it was the many tables, the chairs, or behind the store counters lining the walls, there was a massive amount of places to hide, but blessed spots where they could shoot from different directions with four or more people were few. For Airi and Maguma, they simply had to move while avoiding those areas.

"............"

Airi glared at the floor.

In her imagination, she stepped into the food court and ran. She made imaginary enemies appear from the shadows and reacted to them.

Imagination, imagination, imagination. That was everything in a battle. Before taking action, one must have finished anticipating every possible case that could stem from it. An actual battle should merely be a boring affair of tracing pre-predicted developments. This, too, was likely a power carved into human genes. The wings of imagination, which sometimes guide people, and sometimes lead them astray.

Beside her, Maguma adjusted her grip on the rifle she held. She had been conducting her own analysis in her own way, and it meant she had finished. Coincidentally, Airi had also finished her analysis at the exact same time. They made eye contact and reached a silent agreement to go,

And the two stepped into the food court.

"—Number 4! Number 8!"

Shortly after, someone's voice rang out across the floor.

Bloodlust flew in from multiple directions—this time, not just the presence, but their figures were visible too. Girls in black sailor uniforms were directing their gazes and gun muzzles this way from all over. Number 4 and Number 8 were probably some kind of code. It meant they had planned beforehand, aiming for a multi-directional attack.

There were a total of four muzzles pointed at Airi. A number not easily escaped—had she not mentally prepared for it in advance. Airi moved exactly as she had practiced repeatedly in her head. Leaping on the spot, she tilted her body sideways in mid-air to make her target smaller, while swinging her muzzle from left to right, firing in a sweeping motion. Confirming that she had taken down the two enemies in front of her, Airi landed, and then hid herself in the shadows.

Quickly catching her breath, Airi leaped out again. She dove behind the counter of the store where she had just spotted an enemy, and entered the heavily silver-colored backroom. Since she had a lot of experience working part-time at restaurants, Airi advanced aggressively with a familiar face, and shot dead the enemy hiding behind a stack of cardboard boxes.

In this manner, Airi took down enemies while continuously changing locations. There wasn't much tension. Even though it was a gunfight, as long as one prepared thoroughly, it wasn't much of a problem. It felt like crossing a pedestrian crosswalk. She was conscious of the danger, but it didn't go as far as making her tense.

Just as she defeated her fourth enemy and was searching for her next target—.

Airi felt a bloodlust of a slightly different quality.

If asked what she meant by quality, Airi would be hard-pressed to answer. Because for Airi herself, it was the first time she had experienced such a sensation. If forced to put it into words, it felt subdued, like a highly refined wagashi. Airi turned her face in the direction the bloodlust came from.

And then, she saw it.

The figure of a ghost-like girl, exposing half her body from behind an overturned table.

"...!"

Airi,

did not freeze up just because of that.

No, rather, much faster than usual, she slipped behind a partition standing nearby and protected herself.

Faced with this, Airi was unable to maintain her composure. She finally appeared. The big boss. As long as they defeated that person, everything else would work itself out. It was undeniably the biggest climax of this game, and also the greatest hurdle.

Airi moved while killing the sound of her footsteps. She walked from one end of the partition to the other, and peeked her head out from there. She directed her eyes to the area where Yuki had been moments ago, but there was no one in sight. Only tables and chairs were lined up somewhat forlornly. Had she already changed locations, or was she just hiding?

Gripping a grenade, Airi tried tossing it into the area in question. It exploded, scattering flames and shrapnel—the relatively heavy tables remained in place, but the chairs shifted their positions to varying degrees. That was all. No one came out, and no one's scream was raised. White smoke merely spread in silence.

Timing it for when the smoke had thinned enough that one could say it vanished, Airi leaped out from behind the partition. She certainly didn't think she could defeat Yuki with something like that, but she wanted to confirm it just in case. Along the way, finding an enemy pointing a gun at her, she turned the tables on them, and then approached the problem area.

At that moment, there was something crawling soundlessly across the floor. It was black and small in size, but having neither antennae nor legs, it was not a cockroach but a grenade. Because it came out in such a plain manner, Airi's reaction was carelessly delayed. She hurriedly leaped, diving into the shadow of a nearby chair while using her assault rifle as a shield, but even so, her defense was not perfect. An explosion sound—and along with it, sharp pain shot through various parts of her body. Unable to bear it, she writhed in agony. Despite its sharpness, the pain was not momentary but prolonged. It felt as if a steel centipede was crawling around inside her body. However, she didn't die for the time being, and her limbs seemed to move enough that she could writhe. She had probably only been pierced by a small number of fragments.

Cutting her suffering short, Airi looked around. Smoke accompanying the explosion filled the area, but within it, she found a shadow slightly thicker than the legs of the tables or chairs—a human silhouette. It likely belonged to Yuki. She couldn't feel any bloodlust yet, but being able to see them from here meant they could see and target her from there. Whipping her aching body, Airi moved.

A gunshot was heard from right nearby. Yuki had fired. However, currently, Airi was moving while crouched, slipping under the forest of tables and chairs around her. Their legs stood in the way as obstacles, and the bullets had probably hit them, ringing out with goofy metallic clinks and clanks. Not just fleeing, Airi tried firing back as well, but it only added a few more of those clinking and clanking sounds. Fearing ricochets as well, she decided to stop any useless attacks.

Eventually, Airi hid herself behind a sofa seat. She breathed a sigh of relief—or rather, she couldn't, and kept moving her legs. She couldn't afford to stop. She might be able to protect herself from bullets, but the danger of being attacked by grenades in an arcing trajectory still remained. Employing the same crouched, quick-stepping footwork she used on the upper deck, Airi cast her eyes in all directions. Not just her, Yuki would have moved from her previous spot as well. Both of them had perfectly erased their presence. No footsteps, no breathing, and thanks to the Preservation Treatment, obviously no scent either. They had no choice but to directly spot the other's figure and shoot. She should still be around here. I will definitely strike her first.

While walking around the vicinity, fortunately, no enemies other than Yuki appeared. Airi alone had already taken down five. Maguma had probably defeated about the same number. Now, even including Yuki, there should only be a few left. The general outcome of the game was already decided. Regardless of the result of this battle, there was no longer any way for Yuki to survive—.

Airi peeked her face out from the partition and cast her gaze left and right.

She witnessed it.

The figure of Yuki, leaning against a thick pillar.

She was looking in another direction and hadn't noticed her yet. Thinking perfect, Airi readied her gun. She shouldn't have made a sound, but she must have read her bloodlust, as Yuki immediately turned this way.

A split second before Airi squeezed the trigger, Yuki hoisted something that was rolling at her feet in front of her body. It was—roughly square-shaped, emitted a glossy silver color, and was large enough to completely cover her body. A shield. Airi's single shot was tragically blocked by it.

From the left side of the shield, a muzzle abruptly jutted out. Airi withdrew back behind the partition.

And then she thought. She has a bothersome thing on her—did she rip off a refrigerator door from the store's backroom? Airi had seen that the surface of that shield was entirely scratched up. She probably blocked Airi's grenade with that, too. With a thing like that, shooting her to death will be difficult. Regardless, so as not to let her location be figured out, Airi ran while keeping close to the partition.

Airi's ears caught the continuous gunfire of a full-auto volley. There's no way she could be shot from this angle—just as she thought that, a burning pain shot through Airi's left leg. She lost her balance, fell flat on her face, and rolled over and over on the floor. Coming to a halt on her back, Airi's eyes reflected the ceiling of the food court. The ceiling was wrapped with beams that appeared to be made of metal, but she could see that a part of them was slightly distorted. There were also several bullet holes around it. What had happened was obvious.

Those beams are made of metal. Meaning, they cause ricochets. Yuki shot toward the ceiling and aimed at me by reflecting the bullets! Ridiculous—is such a thing even possible? No, surely she didn't do it with one hundred percent certainty. She must have thought If it hits, it's a bonus, which was exactly why she fired in rapid succession rather than single shots. She had luck in battle. I did not. That was what it came down to.

Airi raised her body. But by that time, Yuki was already right nearby, gun at the ready. At this timing, she probably couldn't escape anymore—nevertheless, Airi attempted to pick up the gun she had dropped at some point just in case.

She saw Yuki's index finger, resting on the trigger, move.

Airi braced herself for the fatal pain that would surely arrive a moment later.

However, right then, Yuki cast her gaze to the side. And—with agility like a ninja or a cat, she leaped, vaulting over the partition Airi had relied on until just now and diving to the other side. Rat-tat-tat, the sound of gunfire could be heard, and bullet holes rapidly formed on the wall. Tracing the line of fire backwards, Maguma stood there, holding a gun. She had stepped in to help.

"Don't just space out!"

Maguma said as if barking.

"Chase her! We're taking her two-on-one!"

Chase her, you say, you can see, can't you? I'm injured here—!

She didn't have the energy to voice such complaints, nor was it the time for it. Dragging her leg, Airi chased after the fleeing Yuki. There was no prior arrangement about their formation, but it naturally settled into a setup where Airi chased from the left and Maguma from the right.

Even taking Airi's injury into account, the fight was easy when it was two against one. If Yuki fled to the left, Airi would aim at her; if she sought an escape to the right, Maguma would block her. Therefore, she had no choice but to run in a way that distanced herself from the two of them. While chasing her, Airi noticed that the amount of light hitting her body was gradually increasing. It was because they were approaching the edge of the floor—the panoramic windows that widely took in sunlight.

A gunshot was heard. Neither Airi nor Maguma had fired. It was Yuki. One of the sections of the panoramic window, separated by frames, turned a cloudy white all over. It was a destruction typical of tempered glass—even if just one or two spots were shot through, fine cracks would run across the entirety. Why did Yuki shoot the window? It didn't even require thinking.

Something leaped out from the shadow of a table by the window. Naturally, it was Yuki. When her body crashed into the glass, it shattered all too easily, and Yuki threw herself outdoors along with the glittering shards of glass. Along with a sense of crisis that she's going to get away, Airi also felt that this was a chance. In mid-air, she wouldn't be able to dodge. If they were to take down a player of Yuki's caliber, this was the only place. Yuki seemed aware of that danger as well, aiming her body and muzzle this way, taking a stance to keep them in check. Airi and Maguma both readied their guns.

It would probably take a second or so for Yuki to remain in free fall and vanish from Airi and Maguma's line of sight. They could only shoot one bullet at most. An electric current ran through Airi's head. She felt the flow of time slow down—this, too, was an ability inherent to seasoned players. In the decisive now or never moment, they mobilized an immense amount of energy in a short time, elevating their cognitive abilities to the ultimate limit. Basking in that blessing, Airi slowly and carefully considered her options and took aim slightly below Yuki.

She fired.

There was a physical response. She was certain it would hit.

However—Yuki's posture was the problem. Yuki was jumping in a stance with her head thrown back and her legs thrust forward. In mid-air, it would certainly be impossible to dodge bullets, but she could at least choose where she would be hit. As if returning the favor from earlier, the bullet Airi fired hit Yuki's left leg. It entered through her shin, pierced through to her calf, and advanced further. Because Yuki's left leg was bent in a dogleg shape, the back of her thigh was directly in the bullet's path. It was sucked into there—but, that was all. The bullet stopped inside her left thigh, failing to reach and damage Yuki's torso located beyond it.

Yuki unleashed a full-auto counterattack into the room, but bullets fired mid-air were hardly going to hit anything. It was mere intimidation. Without flinching in the slightest, Airi glared forward, and confirmed that there was no bleeding from Yuki's shin. White fluff was spilling from her thigh, but her shin was completely clean. It told the tale that she was not made of flesh and blood. Did it mean she was gravely injured, just as the rumors said?

Pulled by gravity, Yuki vanished from Airi and Maguma's line of sight.

"Tch..."

Maguma let out a click of her tongue so loud it could be expressed in writing. She must have fired as well, but she probably missed. It was a tongue click born of that.

Airi and Maguma approached the broken window and looked down outside. As they did, it was exactly the moment Yuki landed on the upper deck. It was, technically, the second floor, and she had jumped off backward, but she managed the landing as if it were only natural.

Airi instinctively grabbed the window frame, but reconsidered. Giving chase was dangerous. Just like Yuki a moment ago, one couldn't dodge mid-air. From the perspective of Yuki standing on the upper deck, she would be completely free to target Airi for the few seconds until she landed. Jumping down was a bad idea.

—Or so she thought.

Beside Airi, there was a person diving outside.

Naturally, it was Maguma.

"Eh...!?"

Airi was astonished.

Rather than looking up at the sky, she was looking down, but anyway, she was shocked.

Yuki on the upper deck pointed her gun at Maguma. However, faster than she could fire, Maguma forcefully kicked the window frame—not sideways, but upwards, scraping against the edge. Through the reaction force, Maguma gained downward acceleration. Eaves jutted out between the second and first floors, and upon descending to that point, Maguma grabbed them with one hand this time and gave a hard push. Gaining acceleration once again, she landed on the upper deck in less than a second. During that time, Yuki had fired a few shots, but all of them merely hit the wall.

What a person, Airi thought. A stunt like that was impossible for her. Retreating to the back of the floor, Airi turned her consciousness to what she could do.

There should still be a few people hiding inside this building. Some might have secretly escaped, but—.

I'll clean up the ones remaining.

（21／24）

Near the superstructure—.

Takami and the others were listening to the sounds of gunfire.

（22／24）

Bam, ba-bam, dry, intermittent sounds.

It seemed a battle had already begun inside. Perhaps because of that, the enemies keeping watch on the roof had decreased in number, lessening the danger of advancing across the upper deck, and Takami and the others were able to successfully approach the superstructure.

From Airi's perspective, it would surely be a You're too slow situation, but Takami thought, oh man, give us a break. You're the weird one. It was insane to move across terrain under the glaring watch of enemy muzzles at a speed almost identical to running normally. For ordinary people like Takami and her group, such a feat was impossible. In fact, even proceeding cautiously like this, about two of them had been shot from the roof and retired. They were down to seven. They were doing their best even so.

In any case, Takami and the others had approached the superstructure. Alright, let's assist—they were rolling up their sleeves in their minds, but,

At that moment, they heard the sound of shattering glass.

They saw a person diving out from a second-floor window.

A black sailor uniform. An enemy. They only looked to be about the size of a soft vinyl capsule toy figure, and were falling at high speed, but Takami's eyes, with their excellent vision, could clearly identify even their facial features. A pale face like a ghost—Yuki. Did she break the window to escape outside?

Takami immediately aimed her gun and tried firing a few shots, but since it was so sudden, her aim was inadequate, and not a single shot hit Yuki. She fell to the upper deck, obscured by various obstacles and disappeared from sight.

A moment later, another person dove out. A white marine uniform. Which meant, an ally. As for this time, her identity would be known even without vision as good as Takami's—there was no player with a frame like that other than Maguma. She kicked the window frame, grabbed the eaves, and moved in a flash, much like a jumping spider bounding off a wall, and also vanished from Takami and the others' sight.

"Yuki escaped to the deck!"

Soon, Maguma's voice roared across the deck.

"The starboard passageway! You dawdling slowpokes! Hurry up and come here!"

It was an order that hardly inspired motivation, but they understood the situation. Takami and the others changed their destination.

They soon arrived at the starboard passageway. Calling it a passageway on this absurdly huge ship meant it was a spacious area whose width should be expressed in meters. Eight meters, Takami instantly estimated by eye. A two-lane road is roughly that wide, so having that set up on a ship could sufficiently be considered wide.

If they wished, Takami's group of seven could even line up side by side in a single row, but doing so would be like asking to be shot, so they advanced through the passageway in a standard scattered formation, protecting themselves with the surrounding cover—things like air conditioner outdoor units, wall alcoves, and even vending machines. On the right side as they faced forward, the wall of the aforementioned superstructure where Yuki had just jumped from towered above, and on the left side, handrails were uniformly installed. These handrails marked the edge of the ship. Beyond them, needless to say, there was only the sea.

Far ahead, human silhouettes could be seen flickering. They were allied players. They were moving, weaving through cover just like Takami and her group, but from the opposite end of the passageway. Scenes of them thrusting out their guns and firing could also be seen. It seemed they were already engaged in a firefight with Yuki—as for Yuki herself, she could not yet be spotted from here.

Something soared, drawing an arcing trajectory. A grenade. It exploded far enough ahead that the damage wouldn't reach Takami's group, and smoke immediately rose. Passing through that smoke, there was a person running this way—Yuki. Was she smoked out from cover because of the explosion?

Before Takami and the others could aim their guns, Yuki hid behind three lined-up trash cans. However, in that hiding spot, even if she could block the line of fire from this side, she couldn't block it from the other side. She was concealed by the grenade smoke and spared from being shot for now, but in a few seconds, that too would disappear. She only had a few seconds left to live.

She's cornered. Checkmate—.

That was when Takami thought so.

Two grenades rolled out from the shadow of the trash cans.

They were probably thrown by Yuki. Takami and the others dove into cover. It was probably intended to keep them in check, but still, what was she going to do? At that distance, she would be caught in the explosion too. Did she intend to blow herself up?

That expectation of Takami's, once again, missed the mark.

She witnessed the figure of Yuki, vaulting over the handrail.

（23／24）

Takami forgot to aim her gun.

Whether the other girls were the same, or if they couldn't aim due to the angle, there was no one who shot at Yuki as she disappeared beyond the handrail.

Explosions followed twice. Smoke danced. Not waiting for it to clear, Takami stepped out from the shadows, approached the handrail, and cast her eyes downward. The other girls did the same. They couldn't feel settled without doing so.

At the end of their line of sight—needless to say, was the vast ocean. It lazily formed waves, entirely oblivious to the conflict taking place aboard the ship.

Amidst it, there was a ripple that looked as if it had just been formed. It was not generated by this ship, nor was it formed by the accompanying ships. It was a ripple caused by some object entering the water.

That was all.

There was no sign of Yuki.

Nowhere to be found.

（24／24）