The countdown to the beginning of the year has just passed a few hours ago, and now the countdown to the start of the operation is echoing in my ears.
I grimaced at the different counts, but I kept the words to myself and threw myself into the air as the countdown sounded from the earpiece in my right ear.
As soon as I hurl myself out of the helicopter, I feel a floating sensation and my body follows gravity and falls directly down.
Naturally, it's not going to slow down, but it's going to accelerate, and if I keep this up, I'm going to crash into a brightly lit square with brutal results.
There's no parachute on your back to fall with.
This is the result of minimizing our equipment in order to be as light as possible, and to be able to move quickly afterwards.
But that doesn't mean we're going to keep falling.
POWER OFF
In the middle of visually measuring the distance to the ground, an audible sound came from the earmike, and the previously bright scene went dark with a thud.
They've turned off the lights as planned.
There's no turning back now.
And now it's just a feeling.
"Operations.
At the same time, I hear the voice coming out of the ear mike again.
Meanwhile, I'm about to make contact with the ground, but in my mind I'm counting down the seconds until I hit the ground and my timing is perfect.
I kill the impact of my landing in a fluid motion.
Roll from your feet to your knees and then to your elbows to your shoulders, protecting your head as you successfully disperse the impact of your landing.
No practice, no bullshit, live action.
But last year's experience of how to move your body and what you can do has made this technique possible.
It was a moment when I thought I had quit being a human being.
I'm not sure if it's a skill that can be learned from experience, but now I'm wondering if it's a skill that my mother also has no problem with.
......
Put off thinking and focus on what you have to do.
The landing sound is muffled to the limit, but that doesn't mean that no sound is coming out.
You look around for someone who might have noticed something.
Through your night vision scope, you can see the scampering public and a group of criminals wondering whether to press the switch or not.
While looking at the scene, you remind yourself that there's no point in staying put, and as soon as you feel your feet react, you run as fast as you can.
I'm going to run through the wind, not out of it, but through it like a gust of wind, and I'm going to run up to one of the culprits.
However, the distance between them is small.
There are others less than two meters away.
We'll have to be quick before this darkness, and before the main suspect can give us the go-ahead.
"Ugh.
Defeat as many as possible while your opponent is distressed.
And how to defeat your opponent.
In this case, there are many ways to lose consciousness and incapacitate your opponent, but the fastest way is to use a quick death technique to stop its breathing.
But it won't work this time.
Even Kirie has not given you a last resort and NG, but she has told you to avoid it.
You can also use electric weapons, such as a stun gun, but this one is useless because of the electronic device used in the bomb, which could affect the detonation part.
However, the movie-like trick of hitting the neck and knocking the victim unconscious is unfortunately not available.
To be more precise, you can use a spinal cord-crushing technique that will not kill you but leave you with the aftereffects, but that's just too much to ask.
However, it would take too much time to carefully clamp down each one of them with a choking technique.
So what do we do?
Buccaneer.
This is a fantasy organization.
We don't need to rely on physical techniques alone.
Oh, needless to say, there are some surprisingly convenient ones.
In my company, magically capable members such as Suela and Memoria would work magic to make you sleep or otherwise lose consciousness through hypnosis.
There was a similar thing in Japan.
I can still hear a man fall asleep.
There's a tag on his face.
Tags.
It's a consumable depicting the rituals used by onmyouji.
Various patterns are drawn according to their uses, but this one is the lowest grade.
It's an excellent mass-producible and frequently used item.
I have a similar one in my hand.
The sleeping charm that Kirie prepared is a rudimentary charm for those involved in the yin and yang dao and is not very effective against gifted players, but it can have this effect on amateurs.
It has such a powerful sleeping effect that even if you slap your face with a little tension, you won't wake up.
When I heard that insomniacs sometimes use it, I laughed inwardly as if it were for medical purposes.
Thanks to it, you can be a little rough, but you can force it to stick on your face like a kung-shih.
Approach at high speed and turn around for a shot.
If it feigns an attack, just slip through and land a blow.
Then you can force it to sleep the rest of the way.
It's as simple as that.
It's almost as if it doesn't have to be me, because anyone can do it.
But I've got a feeling about my mom.
We can't be too careful.
What the hell's going on?
A man with the appearance of a middle-aged businessman is loitering around with a bomb switch in his hand.
It's a good idea to make sure that you don't explode because everyone around you won't.
What?
But the rattling and trembling figure looks like something that could be pushed to the side.
It should be avoided.
Quickly pick up a pebble and throw it at its hand.
You place it on the back of your hand, confirm that the switch has been pulled away, and stick the tag on its face.
That's the fourth one.
If you keep this up, you'll have it under control in less than ten seconds.
No one has seen us.
Then I'll keep control of the area as quickly as possible.
There was no gunfire or sound of blows, and even if I could, it would be faster than the sound of gunfire, and I'd rush through before anyone else, subduing them one by one.
Comrade!
But there seemed to be one person who knew what to do in the midst of this darkness.
Light the darkness! Comrades Given the Holy Flame to This Earth ......
Everyone here understands what this means.
And I understand that what's in that man's hand is the switch that will set off this bomb.
But I've been waiting for the right moment.
The first person who should definitely have subdued this incident is the man who was making this speech.
But this darkness is a bit tricky to find, even if you know the approximate location once it's out of sight.
But I landed close enough not to lose him.
And I kept it at the edge of my vision.
Then it would seem that they should have subdued it first, but that wouldn't have been enough.
"The man who appears to be the main culprit in this mess could not have planned it.
Mr. Kirie may have meant what he said in that fanatical speech, but he didn't think he could have prepared this plan and materials.
The more I looked into it, the more I found out that the people I was able to identify were not much different from the average person, and the main culprit who was giving the speech was also a member of a dubious religious organization, but otherwise just a man running a private business.
His business doesn't seem to be dealing with anything shady either.
If so, Kirie said, there must be a person pulling the strings behind the scenes, and if possible, let him swim a little to find out what's behind the scenes.
That's why you've got the culprit group in an obvious position.
In the midst of the commotion, we let the perpetrators swim away, and the surveillance stationed in the sky will look for them, and either I or my mother will try to control them.
If the main culprit contacts someone or makes a confirming gesture, we're good to go.
It was only a dozen seconds, but it was an opportunity.
But that chance came up empty.
Either your opponent is better at this, or the time limit has come, and no one else planned the ruckus.
The opponent is ready to detonate the bomb, and now it's inevitable.
We're going to subdue it.
Just say a few words to the correspondent and activate the power of the divine tool to the fullest.
If you're thinking about the rest, you should leave some extra power, but your opponent is about to hit the switch at any moment, and every second is a fatal moment.
There's no time to spare.
That's why you run as fast as you can.
Repeatedly in close quarters, I've developed a sense that time slows down, or rather, that my awareness accelerates.
This time, too, as I focus and sharpen my senses, the scene in front of me begins to slow down.
I think I'm in the athlete's zone.
I've decided to do it.
Just like that, a sensation sweeps over you as time slows down, and the man giving the speech begins to slow down.
"Guhoa, mi-ko-sa-mah.
And it's only slow in my mind, but from the opponent's point of view, it's just a moment.
Accelerated by the tool, my fist, which has become a shadow, transforms the man's face from an ecstatic smile to one of anguish in an instant.
My left hand crushes the wrist of the principal offender, and my right hand is cut into the man's stomach.
It's just these two events.
I grab the switch that has fallen out of my left hand, and when I see that he's fallen to the ground and is motionless, the next thing I know, I'm attacking his cronies.
The main culprit has suddenly become incapacitated.
Fanatics are fragile when they lose their heads.
That's because no one thinks.
The man is right, just follow his word.
Obedience, blindness, and delusion are the three elements that make a person give up the act of thinking.
So you won't know what to do.
You will not carry on the will of your fellow man or press the trigger to complete the riot.
Such an opponent is no different from a dumb boy.
Especially if the order was interrupted by him taking a posture to listen to it.
You can rush over to the stunned opponents, basically aiming mainly at their wrists, taking care not to let them press the switch, and finally finish the job by breaking the last one's wrist and attaching the tag to his face.
Then look around.
This is the stage for the event.
In the distance, my mom waves to me to let me know that she's safe and that the personnel who landed in other directions are now under control.
I can't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Even though you've switched to a work mindset, that doesn't mean you're not nervous.
Nor am I loosening up, but only lightly regulating my breathing.
And all the while, you're alert, but it seems you've successfully subdued it.
This atmosphere may have been transmitted to the people around you, and a murmur of excitement is flowing in from the quiet crowd of civilians who have been huddled together.
The power will be back on soon.
Then you don't need to stay here for long, so you remove your equipment from the main culprit and drag him away.
Oh, you're the police?
I thought so, but I heard a voice talking to me fearfully.
I looked over and saw a group of people on the stage, all crowded together.
The figure shifts to the night vision scope to reveal a TV crew and a group of celebrities whose faces I've seen before.
I wonder if the announcer was one of them.
Even I knew him, and he was looking at me.
The battle just went quiet, and then I heard a moan in the dark.
It's normal to think something's happened.
You clasped his hand to your chest and gathered your courage to speak to him.
That's right. We've got him. Just wait a little longer and the lights will be back on. Don't worry.
It's not true, but to say it's not here would create more confusion.
I'm sorry to speak in a muffled voice through my mask to reassure you, but I'll let it be that way.
Thank God.
We saved you.
Maybe it's because they know I'm from the police, or maybe it's because they know the killer is subdued.
The first woman's voice you hear is the first one you think you heard, and then the voices of those who thought the case was solved begin to echo.
We've been attacked by terrorists, so what can we do about it?
"For your own safety, please stay put for a while longer. The criminals may still be lurking.
I don't think it's right to put a damper on that sense of security, but I have a feeling that if it continues, it's going to be walking around the area, so I'll just keep a nail in the coffin.
It's also a problem for me to be seen.
"Everyone, please begin to clear out. Power will be back on in three minutes. Please move to your assigned location and keep the perpetrator pinned down. The police will apprehend him.
"Yes, sir.
Follow the instructions coming from the ear microphone.
I responded after the others had replied.
I let out a sigh of relief and thought my mother's hunch was off after all.
"Ha ha.
That's when it happened.
I was still groaning when I was instructed to tag the main culprit and prune his consciousness, when I heard the laughter in my ears.
The laughter was so faint that it sounded as if I had overheard it, but the alarm bell told me not to miss it.
!
Was it a coincidence that I heard it, or was it because I was working out?
Either way, as I looked in the direction of the laughter to find the source of the sound, I saw a glimmer of light just across from them, opposite a group of celebrities who were relieved and happy for each other's safety.
"Hey, hey, hey, who's that. You.
It was lucky that I was able to move so quickly.
With a smooth, slippery movement, I interrupted the shimmering light's identity.
The back of her hand, her face twisted in shock at the impact she felt through the steel plate protector, she looked at it.
The glowing eyes, recognizable even in the darkness, and a crescent moon of a smile.
Yeah, I know.
I tried to talk to her, but I didn't expect it.
I don't think you should expect a response, or even a conversation, from the way she catches my face with her eyes that normally wouldn't move like that.
Jiro! Watch out! A strange mixture of 'weirdness'
"Yeah, I'm just getting in your face.
While heeding my mother's warning, he gently scattered his gaze around.
The same as the one in front of you, the figure standing there like a wavering ghost, eyes so crazy that they can't be compared to the fanatic just now.
Such beings appear here and there, and as if overlapping them, a scream resounds.
''Oh!
There was no moderation in the small sword, which was brought down by the left hand and is still being pushed in.
The only sound was a crunching sound, and there was no sign of letting go of the weapon.
If I hadn't covered for him, the announcer behind him would have sunk in blood.
I can feel that kind of madness laced with spirit.
So, if the bomb didn't work, now we have to use force.
Sacrifice to the earth.
The man in front of me is mumbling something, but I don't think the words themselves would mean anything.
But why did these guys show up at this time?
It would have been more efficient if I had a bomb and hid and exploded anyway.
No, they're fear-mongering, aren't they?
It would have been better and would have caught us off guard, but you soon realize that your opponent has a different goal.
And while you're thinking this, one by one, another entity stands up, the murder weapon in his or her hand.
"Godd*mn it!
It was as clear as fire where it would fall.
I thought that subduing the bomb wasn't the end of the story, and now I'm throwing myself into the battle while protecting this hostage.
And then...
So my mother's intuition was right.
I realized that the roots of this mess are quite deep.