Assassin

"Bang! Hiss—"

What Kurumi had least wanted to see still happened. The school bus's front right tire was blown out, the air escaping in an instant as it rapidly flattened. With the bus moving too fast, it immediately began tilting and toppling to one side!

Shizuka Marikawa desperately tried to control the bus. The vehicle shook violently, barely managing to keep moving forward.

The bald leader had aimed for ages, but the swaying bus made it impossible to get a clear shot. In frustration, he fired at random!

"Bang!"

The police pistol struck by sheer luck and blew out one of the rear tires. This time, Shizuka Marikawa finally lost control. The bus flipped straight onto its side, forcing her to let go of the steering wheel and cover her head with both hands to avoid injury.

Holding the Steel Katana, Kurumi drove it down with all her strength. "Hiss!"

The resistance peaked the instant the blade's tip touched the steel plating. Even Kurumi, with 2 points of Strength, had both palms numbed by the impact. A shower of sparks burst out, then it cut through like a knife through tofu, embedding firmly into the metal. She grabbed Busujima Saeko beside her with one hand; the hilt was long enough for both of them to hold.

She lowered her weight as much as possible, her round-toed boots gripping the steel plating tightly for greater friction. Like an old monk in meditation, she did not move an inch!

Komuro Takashi and the others were not so fortunate. They only had time to curl up and shield their heads. The immense inertia sent them crashing violently toward the other side like rolling balls, their screams mixed together.

"Boom—"

The bus skidded for more than ten meters before crashing into several cars and finally coming to a stop. The sound of its side grinding against the ground made everyone's teeth ache. The steel plates and windows that had once formed the interior walls were now completely overturned at a ninety-degree angle.

Kurumi hung there with a grim expression, red marks already appearing on her hands from gripping the hilt so tightly. From the ground, one could clearly see the enticing black *** beneath her school uniform skirt!

Unfortunately, no one was in any state to admire the view. Komuro Takashi and the others, who could see it from their angle, had already been left dizzy and disoriented by the impact. With ringing ears, they shakily used nearby objects to pull themselves upright.

Grasping the hilt, Kurumi slowly lowered herself down. She did not immediately pull out the Steel Katana. Instead, she gestured to the still-dazed group, telling them not to make a sound, then tilted her head and listened...

The crackling of flames slowly reducing everything combustible to ash. Mixed within it were noisy voices and footsteps drawing ever closer...

"Boss, that shot just now was damn accurate. I'm not trying to flatter you, but with shooting like that, you're way better than those Self-Defense Forces bastards!"

"Hahaha, you really know how to kiss ass, kid. Stick with me from now on, and you'll have all the women and food you could want!"

"That's right! You don't even know what kind of man our boss is. He was already out making a name for himself at eight years old!..." The other thugs chimed in.

"Boss, did you hear that just now? I think there were women screaming inside that bus." A short man with green-dyed hair and an earring in his left ear leered as he spoke to the bald leader.

The bald leader glanced at him. "Really? You'd better not be lying to me, or else... heh heh!"

"I wouldn't dare, Boss. Everything I said is true. We'll know if we go take a look."

Green Hair was somewhat terrified. Order had only collapsed for an afternoon, but not long ago, someone who had refused to obey had been shot by the "boss" he spoke of, his brains splattering all over the ground!

He was just a street punk. When had he ever seen anything like that? Even now, thinking about it made his legs go weak. But... the feeling of having no laws restraining him was really great. The convenience store cashier downstairs who had always looked down on him—hadn't he just had his fun with her? She hadn't dared resist at all.

She was used goods, but it still felt unbelievably good. He never imagined that the virginity he had kept for over twenty years would be broken today, though the process had been somewhat unexpected... Still, no one was going to hold him accountable. If she refused, he could just kill her!

"Tap, tap, tap..."

The messy footsteps came closer and closer. Kurumi crouched down, every muscle in her body tightening. She spotted a revolver six or seven meters away outside the bus window. It should have been the one Komuro Takashi had dropped. But if she went out now...

There was a good chance she would get a hole blasted through her body by the shotgun!

"Oh, it's a school bus! Looks like us brothers can have some fun with schoolgirls!"

"Hahaha, exactly! I always heard schoolgirls were tender and wet. Who would've thought we'd get to enjoy such a treat today!..."

Hearing those filthy words, Takagi Saya and Miyamoto Rei's little faces turned bright red with rage. They wished those thugs would all die right now—better yet, get bitten to death by Dead Bodies!

The voices were only about a layer of steel plating away. Kurumi turned back, her cherry lips parting. No original Charm voice came out; they could only barely make out her words from her mouth movements: "Don't move..."

Although they did not know what Kurumi intended to do, despite their fear, they chose to leave everything to her!

Her right hand had already gripped the hilt. Feeling the people outside constantly moving back and forth... the broken window above was where she would break through!

Finally, the footsteps arrived directly in front of Kurumi. Her intensely focused senses gave her astonishing hearing; she could even hear the other person's heart continuously beating.

"Ssh—"

Her right arm and legs exerted force at the same time. The Steel Katana instantly tore free from the steel plating, and Kurumi leaped out of the bus. The first thing she saw was Green Hair, the one who had been talking earlier!

"Huh?!" Green Hair, a cigarette still dangling from his mouth, stared at the astonishing sight before him. Even in that hurried glance, he could see the girl's elfin face! Then all he saw was a flash of white light, followed by a headless body standing on the ground...

Isn't that my body?

With that question, the final image froze before his eyes, and he sank into eternal darkness...

The instant Kurumi saw Green Hair, she swung her blade and cut him down. Then she lunged forward, rolled after landing, and hid behind an abandoned sedan.

"Bang! Bang bang!"

The thugs noticed the scene as well. They had only vaguely seen a figure in a school uniform before Green Hair's head and body were separated! Before their bald boss could even order them to fire, they frantically began pulling their triggers toward Kurumi!

When had any of their own ever been killed? Other than the unlucky bastard who had talked back to the boss, they had always been the ones bullying others! After getting guns from the police station, their arrogance had only grown worse!

Yet they had never expected that, even with guns, someone would kill one of them instead!

It might have been a sneak attack, but the speed of that figure had been enough to chill them to the bone! With so many abandoned cars here, how could they possibly hit her? What if she silently crept up behind them and gave them a slash...!!!

Bullets poured out continuously, nearly shooting through the poor black sedan! Kurumi had already run to the other side...

Even under the glow of the flames, the pitch-black night sky remained incredibly dim. From time to time, the thugs caught sight of a slender figure flashing past on the walls of roadside buildings. Having received no proper training, they followed their instincts and reflexively pulled the trigger toward the shadows.

"Calm down! Calm the fuck down! All of you, stop wasting bullets!"

The bald leader's furious roar echoed across the road, even briefly drowning out the sounds of gunfire.

Though the thugs barely managed to steady themselves, they still suspiciously held their guns and fought on their own, with no intention of gathering together...

Seeing this scene from the darkness, Kurumi's lips curled upward into an exceptionally excited smile. Even though she had not been born an assassin, how could battle-hardened Kurumi possibly be compared to such lowly street thugs!

Besides, her ability to lurk in the Main God Space was no worse than that of a professional assassin. Otherwise, after setting up and killing so many teammates, she would have long since been killed by the captain!

She lowered herself and darted toward the nearest thug. Her agile form was like a black cat beneath the night sky, landing without a sound...

"Pfft!"