Blue Archive - White Day (Volume 2)

42

8:00 P.M. Seia watched the conflict through a screen lamenting all that was happening. The leader of the Sanctus faction had refused to participate in the march against Gehenna. She did not accept the idea that everything had to end through arms. Gehenna was mostly in chaos.

An hour had passed since the war had officially begun. The alliance of schools was struggling to fight its way through the forces of Gehenna. Several clubs were engaged in an all-out battle against waves of students from the infamous academy and their thugs on a bridge that was structurally weak from the impact of the airship. The most remarkable work was being done by Tsurugi and, Rio's bodyguard, Toki. The situation was bad, but it could get worse. Rio and Nagisa were aware that if they had not received information about Sensei of the groups that had infiltrated, it was because Makoto had foreseen their movements... Or perhaps someone else, someone with as much authority in the academy as Hanuma Makoto, had foreseen it. They could only hope that the teams they had sent out would reach their target, or at least... She.

To the Northeast, Junko and Azusa were having a fierce battle while their club mates were tearing up a park to stop the fearsome students who wanted to go to a buffet for dinner. On the opposite side, the Foreclosure Task Force was a headache for Iori, Chinatsu and Ako and especially because of Shiroko.

To the south, the fighting was almost over. Near the commercial area only Saori and Akane remained. The leader of Arius Squad had taken care of Zero One and Zero Two. Zero Three had taken care of the slippery little employee of Problem Solver 68. Akane was too tired to continue. Haruka's booby traps had done an excellent job against the C&C member.

''You might as well give up. There's no reason to continue your team has already been defeated.''

The gray-haired student adjusted her glasses and laughed a little at Saori's statement.

''We, the Cleaning & Clearing club, don't know something like mission failure and even if we fail, our little symbol of victory will always fulfill what we failed to do.'' Akane pointed her gun at Saori.

''The word 'little' was unnecessary!... But there is nothing truer than what she has said.''

From the dust raised by the stormy wind, they could hear the calm footsteps of someone who has faced a lot of adversity and in one way or another has always come out victorious. The president of the maid team pointed to the girl on the run from the Arius Satellite School.

''You are right in what you said. You might as well give up. Those girls who hired you can't go on anymore. It's better that you step aside and don't get in the way of our mission.''

Saori watched both of them almost without interest.

''So Haruka's companions fell. It's true that I accepted the money they offered me, but what they gave me was barely enough to buy a hamburger. What I'm doing I'm doing to return the favor to that girl.'' Saori raised her pistol and rifle.

''It's admirable that you want to go on to fulfill that girl, however, we have a more compelling reason to pass on you.''

''To prevent Sensei from getting a girlfriend?''

''Of course not!'' Said Neru blushing.

''There was no reason to blush so much, president,'' said Akane with a resigned tone, ''She has taken that topic very personal.''

''Shut up! It's not true!''

''Whatever, I won't allow them to be put in front of whatever Sensei wants either.''

''There's a good chance that the man at the academy is an impostor,'' said Neru bluntly, "Our mission is not about a simple girl's whim.''

''Imposters... I had already heard something... However... Contemplating that idea, who can guarantee me that the enemy is not among the girls who are trying to reach the academy...''

''It looks like you've chosen the hard way.'' Neru looked at her with disdain.

''I have chosen to reduce the odds on my own.''

The wind blew the hair around. The three girls exchanged glances holding their breath. They were careful not to blink. Each one stroked the trigger of her gun. Finally, a 'click' was heard and after that, all three fired. Akane was wounded in the belly while Neru was pouncing on Saori with a hail of bullets from her Twin Dragons. The Arius girl leaned back. She counterattacked with her pistol. The bullets hit Neru. Saori's years of training and experience showed in her movements. She kicked the maid, knocking her back. She emptied the magazine of her pistol and immediately switched to firing the rifle. She didn't want to give the C&C leader time to breathe. She knew the little maid's power was to be feared. Neru tried to take cover behind the rubble and into a ruined building, but Saori followed her like a shadow. Neru turned a corner. She tried to take the Arius girl by surprise from the top of a flight of stairs. Saori appeared covering herself with a piece of desk and a flower pot in her other hand. The flower pot turned to pieces as it flew towards the Millenium student. The Arius Squad leader was back in control by firing the bullets from her rifle. Neru had no choice but to continue up the stairs. She stepped into a room and fired through the wall. Saori dropped to the floor and from the other side of the wall, did the same. Finally, there was a pause. Her enemy's rifle had run out of bullets. Neru was ready to give her all in the next attack. Her halo hair and weapons lit up. The wall separating the room from the hallway and the wall of the hallway to outside were pulverized after a storm of multiple golden lightning bolts. The wind blowing in through the huge gap in the building dissipated the dust. There was no one in the hallway. Only a device with a flickering red light. Neru noticed it; before she could do anything, the floor cracked with a dull sound after the light changed on the device. Neru's slender body traversed the fourth, third and second floors until it came to a stop on the first floor. A good amount of debris fell on top of her. Saori peered through the hole in the floor from the fourth floor. There was nothing to be seen but the pieces of the mezzanine and some shattered office items. Without any change in her expression, the girl in the mask walked down the stairs to the second floor. Her job was done. She looked in the direction of the academy. ''Should I go see Sensei,'' she wondered. The sound of debris falling to the ground caught her attention. Out of the corner of her eye she looked back. Neru was standing on the pile of concrete that had buried her. The little maid was panting. Her uniform was torn and her body bruised. With the backs of her palms she wiped the sweat and blood on her face. She would not let go of her pair of submachine guns.

''You should...''

Saori turned to finish her off with a shot. The C&C president had disappeared in her eyes. On instinct, she lowered her gaze and took a step back. Neru was inches away from Saori. He was aiming one of her Twin Dragons at her chin. Neru's bullets passed within an inch of her face. The cap went flying. Before it got away from her, Double Zero hit her enemy in the liver. The student Arius was paralyzed for an instant. Spinning on one of her feet, Neru lashed out with a kick to the opposite side. The maid took her distance. She set her sights on her opponent and opened fire. The tables had turned. Saori struggled to keep her distance from Neru's, albeit frantic, very bold attack. Both ladies struggled until each was left with no more than a bullet in her last magazine. Saori was on one knee panting. Her body was already at its limit. The C&C president was on her feet, but that didn't mean she was any less affected than her adversary. Saori put aside her rifle. She aimed her revolver at her opponent. Neru raised her machine guns. The girl in the robotic mask felt pain as she stood up and advanced against Neru. It was a moment not to be missed, however, the maid did not fire. The suspicions of Arius' student were almost confirmed. Saori tried to hit Neru in the head. A hand-to-hand fight in which their firearms were being used as blunt weapons began. Neru's stature gave a small advantage in mobility and agility over her opponent. For every step and blow that Saori delivered, Neru delivered three. The little brawler took a false step when she tripped over a piece of building. Saori's knee connected with Neru's chest. Double Zero was about to fall, but a wall stopped her. The Arius Squad leader aimed her pistol at the maid's forehead. Neru raised her left arm and fired desperately. Saori dodged without taking her aim.

''That's the end of it.'' They both said.

In thearea the detonation was heard as if it was a single shot. Saori fell to theground. Neru was standing with her right arm up and her eyes rolling. Theleader of the C&C club also fell.