You’re Right, They’ll Expel Me if I Run into the Store with a Weapon!! - Chapter 33: Meryl's Request

◆The Endless Appearance of Spiders◆

The battle intensified as Shiori and her team navigated a T-junction, dodging enemy attacks while launching their own. Amidst a hail of bullets, those with offensive abilities, including Shiori, unleashed their powers repeatedly. Shiori’s eyes caught sight of enemy forces as black thorns emerged from the ground, impaling foes one after another.

“Amazing, Shiori! You’re terrifyingly good!”

“Don’t just praise me. Use your ability to take them down, too.”

“Understood! Then, Shiori, please create a wall with your blackthorns! Five seconds should be enough!”

Following Meryl’s instructions, Shiori conjured a wall of blackthorns, about 170 centimeters tall, across the corridor.

Meryl slid into the shadow of the thorn wall, forming a hand blade.

“Ha!”

With a powerful motion, she swung her hand blade from her left hip to her right shoulder, cutting through the thorns and a spider lurking in the hallway beyond.

Meryl Candeloro’s ability, “Vibration Particle – Vibro Particle,” allows her to generate and manipulate vibrating particles from her body, using them to slice through targets with high-speed vibrations released from her hands.

“Why use a hand blade?”

“It makes it easier to visualize projecting the force at a distance!”

Seizing the opportunity created by Meryl, they intensified their forward assault, increasing their speed.

◆Surveillance Room◆

The battle between combatants and soldiers was displayed in a room filled with monitoring screens.

“What’s the situation?”

A portly man in a lab coat asked a man in a suit who was operating a keyboard.

“We’re still deploying spiders. Currently, 20% have been destroyed.”

“Have we detected any other combatants with our sensing ability?”

“No, we’ve been using soldiers for detection but haven’t picked up any combat power signals.”

“Then, it seems we only have three squads confirmed so far.”

“Is it possible that a human without combat power has infiltrated?”

“That’s unlikely. The opponent should be aware of our forces. Combatants are the preferred countermeasure against soldiers. End the search. Continue to lead them to that location with soldiers.”

“Understood.”

“!”

“Shiori!”

Caught off guard, a spider hit Shiori with a flamethrower attack, scorching the surface of her arm.

But before the injury could become fatal, Meryl destroyed the spider and knelt beside Shiori.

” Shiori, what’s wrong? Your movements are getting slower, and your abilities seem weaker.”

” I don’t know. I’ve been switching between weapons and abilities, so there shouldn’t be any cooldown. Speaking of which, Meryl, you seem to be slowing down too, don’t you?”

After administering first aid to her burned arm with a medical kit and attempting to enhance her natural healing with human enhancement, Shiori discussed the situation with Meryl.

” You too, Shiori? Yes, I’ve noticed it as well. But the reason is unclear. We may be facing soldiers equipped with abilities that dull our senses.”

“They’ve created another troublesome thing. Anna, can you read the abilities of the spiders around here?”

” I’m sorry. I can’t. I could understand if it were a real brain, but not with these artificial ones…”

Anna was included in the mission specifically to verify the abilities stored in brains, not to check the abilities of spiders, which was outside her specialization.

“No need to apologize. Let’s keep moving forward.”

After treating her injuries, Shiori continued to use her abilities to penetrate the enemy, though her powers seemed to diminish gradually.

Alone in a cramped room, a boy tirelessly banged on a solid door.

“Why won’t it open? Normally, it would if I stopped!”

The elevator Hiroki was in had stopped descending after a faint vibration lasting more than thirty seconds, but the expected door opening didn’t occur. Hiroki considered breaking the door with his ability, E.

“Damn, doesn’t feel like I can break through. Shoot it with Artemis? No, ricochets would be bad.”

Hiroki pondered his escape, coming to a decision.

Bang! Bang! Boom!

He used the handrails on the wall to boost himself up and strike the ceiling with E. After several hits, a thick plate came loose.

“Good.”

Hiroki could see his surroundings clearly, with multiple small lamps illuminating the walls.

“Huh, a vent? Well, if I can fit through it, that’s fine.”

He noticed a small square opening at his feet.

Hiroki’s initial goal was to find a maintenance entrance used by elevator technicians in the elevator shaft, but after discovering the vent, he made his choice.

He smashed the thin iron grille fixed over the vent with E, crawled in headfirst, and moved forward on his belly, using his smartphone’s light for guidance.

In the space filled with the smell of iron and the presence of air circulation fans, Hiroki gripped E tightly, ready to clear any obstacles.

“For now…”

With a strong thrust of E, he destroyed the obstacle.

Though it was too late to consider, Hiroki’s mental state had been in turmoil since being trapped in the elevator.

Leaving a trail of destruction, he continued to advance, encountering and breaking fans repeatedly until he saw…

“A green light?”

A dim green light was visible through an iron grille ahead.

Hiroki destroyed the grille with E, crawled out of the narrow exit, and stood up to see…

“…What is this…?”

Amid the echoing gunshots and sounds of destruction, as the enemy forces ahead began to diminish, Shiori and her team seized the opportunity to push forward relentlessly, eventually stepping into a vast space.

They found themselves in a circular area covered with white floors and walls, about 300 meters in diameter.

“Here we are…”

“Jack!”

“Harry! And Leo! Why are you here!?”

Teams that had separated upon infiltrating the facility had now converged in one location.

This was…

“Ah, combatants from the combat school. Glad you could make it.”

Everyone present heightened their alertness, scanning the surroundings and finding one wall that differed from the rest. It was made of glass, through which several figures could be seen.

“I’m pleased to see so many from the higher echelons here. You all will make fine soldiers.”